Former President Donald Trump recently declared on Truth Social that «the United States will never be a communist country,» a statement that drew widespread mockery. Yet, as the country debated the tone of his message, primary election results told a more unsettling story for the political establishment. Three candidates endorsed by New York City's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, won their respective primaries, two of them defeating incumbent members of Congress — one of the most difficult feats in American politics.
In Colorado, Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old attorney affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), unseated Diana DeGette, who had represented the district since 1997. The Associated Press summarized the New York primaries with an eloquent headline: Mamdani had demonstrated his political power within the Democratic Party. While Mamdani's triumph could be interpreted as a local curiosity, the phenomenon is much broader. The DSA won nine of the ten primaries in which it fielded or endorsed candidates in the city, now boasts over 100,000 members, and has multiplied its New York membership in just two years. Reuters describes a wave of socialist candidates beginning to challenge the Democratic establishment in various states.
For much of the 20th century, declaring oneself a socialist in the United States was political suicide. Today, according to Pew Research, 32% of Democratic voters hold a favorable view of leaders who define themselves as «democratic socialists.» Among progressive Democrats, that figure exceeds 50%. Among voters under 30, support hovers around 40% — a number unthinkable for generations that grew up during the Cold War.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, one of the three candidates backed by Mamdani who won her primary, was a co-founder of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a pro-Palestinian activist group at Columbia University. In a post shared by the organization on an Instagram account later deleted, the group wrote: «We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization,» alongside messages supporting an «internationalist Intifada» and various «liberation» movements in the Global South. Just a few years ago, such a connection would have been enough to end any national political career. Today, it did not prevent her from securing the Democratic Party's nomination for the House of Representatives.
The new candidates are not hiding their positions to reassure moderate voters. On the contrary, they campaign on them. Melat Kiros proposes Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, cutting the Pentagon budget, ending military aid to Israel, and abolishing ICE, the federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement. Darializa Avila Chevalier also advocates for abolishing ICE, universal basic income, and a fully public healthcare system. Kiros summarizes the spirit of this new political generation: «People are seeing that capitalism is responsible for much of the degradation of our economy, our democracy, and our climate. They demand a new way of organizing the economy.»
The Democratic Socialists have given up on creating a third party. The U.S. electoral system makes that nearly impossible. Their strategy is to conquer the Democratic Party from within. Bernie Sanders paved the way. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave it a national face. Mamdani now shows that this current can produce its own candidates, defeat the party apparatus, and extend its influence over other aspirants.
The change is even more striking when one remembers where the Democratic Party came from. It was the party of John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, who entered the White House promising fiscal responsibility, economic growth, and a market-friendly healthcare reform. Today, an increasingly influential part of its membership claims socialism as a political credential. Just one generation ago, a candidate who praised socialism, proposed abolishing the main federal immigration enforcement agency, or was linked to an organization that proclaimed the «total eradication of Western civilization» would have seen their political career ended before it began. Today, they win primaries in safe districts and prepare to go to Congress.
Socialism has ceased to be a stigma within the Democratic Party. It wins primaries, displaces traditional party apparatchiks, and is beginning to decide who will represent a significant proportion of citizens in the United States. The implications for national policy, from healthcare to foreign affairs, could be profound as these candidates move from primaries to general elections and eventually to legislative power.
