By Lucretia Hughes Klucken
WASHINGTON — Democratic socialism is no longer a fringe movement confined to college campuses, activist organizations and the far-left corners of American politics. Its influence is growing inside the Democratic Party, where socialist-aligned candidates are winning elections, attracting younger voters and challenging longtime party leaders.
The movement’s most significant victory came with the 2025 election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City. His victory gave the Democratic Socialists of America, commonly known as the DSA, control of the mayor’s office in the nation’s largest city and provided the organization with a national platform.
That momentum continued throughout the 2026 primary season.
Candidates associated with the DSA defeated establishment-backed Democrats in several closely watched contests. Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon overcame a fundraising disadvantage of more than 16-to-1 to defeat retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
In Michigan, state Rep. Donavan McKinney, a democratic socialist, defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar. Abdul El-Sayed, who does not identify as a socialist but ran on several policies supported by the movement, captured Michigan’s Democratic Senate nomination.
Those victories have intensified an internal fight over the future of the Democratic Party.
Party progressives argue that democratic socialist candidates are energizing young and working-class voters who feel abandoned by the political establishment. Moderate Democrats warn that candidates embracing socialist policies could struggle in competitive districts and cost the party control of Congress.
A Brookings Institution analysis identified 282 DSA-endorsed candidates during the 2026 election cycle. More than half sought local or state legislative offices.
However, the organization’s national reach remains limited. Most of its successful candidates have competed in heavily Democratic areas, and fewer than half of its candidates for Congress or statewide office won their primaries.
The November general election will determine whether democratic socialism can expand beyond liberal cities and Democratic primaries.
The movement also faces questions about its relationship with Black voters, who remain one of the Democratic Party’s most important constituencies.
A recent Reuters examination found that some Black voters and community leaders believe socialist-aligned campaigns focus too heavily on ideological issues while giving insufficient attention to crime, housing, health care, food prices and other daily concerns.
DSA officials maintain that affordability is central to their agenda. The organization supports government-funded health care, expanded housing programs, stronger unions, higher taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans, and public ownership of major portions of the energy and transportation industries.
The organization also supports the Green New Deal and what it describes as defunding police departments and redirecting money toward community programs. According to the DSA’s own explanation of its objectives, it wants Americans to “collectively own the key economic drivers” that influence their lives.
The appeal of those promises is not difficult to understand. Families struggling with inflation, housing costs, medical bills and stagnant wages are listening to politicians who promise that the government will provide relief.
But the promises come with a price.
Government cannot give something to one American without first taxing, borrowing or taking resources from another. Expanding government control also means expanding the power of politicians and unelected bureaucrats over private businesses, property and individual decisions.
Public opinion demonstrates how far the Democratic Party has moved.
A 2025 Gallup poll found that 66% of Democrats held a positive view of socialism, while only 42% viewed capitalism positively. Among all Americans, however, 54% viewed capitalism favorably and 39% viewed socialism favorably.
A subsequent Gallup study found that 81% of Americans viewed free enterprise positively. Americans associated free enterprise with economic freedom, competition, innovation and consumer choice. They were more likely to associate socialism with government control, economic inefficiency and weakened incentives to work.
The divide reached the House floor Tuesday when lawmakers considered a resolution condemning socialism in all its forms. The measure passed 220-192, with two members voting present, according to the official House roll call.
A congressional resolution will not stop the movement. Democratic socialism is growing because its supporters have spent years organizing locally, recruiting candidates and presenting government control as compassion.
The word “democratic” does not change the economic foundation of socialism. Nor does calling government dependency a benefit change who ultimately pays for it.
America’s free-enterprise system is imperfect, but it has created opportunity, innovation and upward mobility unmatched by centrally controlled economies. Its failures should be corrected without surrendering the freedoms that allowed generations of Americans to build businesses, own property and improve their lives.
The continued rise of democratic socialism should not be dismissed as a passing political trend. It is an organized effort to fundamentally change the relationship between Americans and their government.
The question facing voters is no longer whether socialism could come to America.
It is whether Americans will recognize it while they still have the freedom to reject it.
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