If you have recently heard the term "democratic socialist" mentioned in U.S. news, it does not refer to a separate political party. Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a member organization, not an officially registered party, but candidates backed by DSA still run for office as members of the Democratic Party. According to NPR, two such candidates recently won competitive primary elections in New York, following a similar victory in Philadelphia in May and most recently a win in Denver on Tuesday. In Denver, 29-year-old Melat Kiros defeated a Democratic incumbent congressman of 30 years, despite her opponent — Diana DeGette — having a fairly progressive voting record. What caught people's attention was that Kiros publicly refused to accept money from corporate political action committees and advocacy groups supporting Israel, while criticizing her opponent for accepting such contributions.
The winning streak of democratic socialist candidates is forcing the Democratic Party to ask itself what kind of party it wants to become.
How different voting groups are affected
With workers and low-income families, DSA candidates typically campaign on a platform of raising taxes on the wealthy, expanding social benefits, and supporting childcare assistance. In New York, Mamdani — who was elected mayor at age 34 and is the second DSA member to lead the city — built his platform around housing support, childcare, and higher taxes on the top 1% of earners. For renters and families struggling with living costs, this is a group of policies that directly affects their monthly budgets.
Where immigrants stand in this picture
On immigration, the policy gap between the two sides is stark. DSA publicly wants to allow workers to move freely between countries to find work without strict immigration controls, while expanding labor rights and social services to all immigrants. Meanwhile, at the federal level, the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the Trump administration's authority to tighten immigration enforcement, including revoking temporary protected status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of people. This gap explains why immigration policy has become one of the clearest dividing lines between the DSA wing and the rest of the American political landscape.
Democratic Party leadership and candidates in swing states
For moderate Democratic strategists, the DSA winning streak is a double-edged sword. Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way, is among those concerned that embracing DSA candidates will give Republicans ammunition to label the entire Democratic Party as extreme, potentially affecting results in the swing regions that determine control of Congress. Notably, DSA's victories so far have been concentrated in cities already heavily Democratic, while Democratic candidates in Michigan, Maine, and Texas continue to campaign on cost of living without the DSA label.
The movement itself is not unified
The DSA movement itself is not a monolithic bloc. In Los Angeles, over 400 chapter members convened to discuss whether to reopen the endorsement process for the 2026 mayoral race; the vote achieved only 54% in favor, falling short of the supermajority needed, showing that internal debate continues over how to allocate campaign resources. Christian Science Monitor also noted that this identity debate is spreading beyond a few major cities, becoming a test case for the entire Democratic Party.
Why this trend is accelerating
The rise of DSA is not a new phenomenon — the organization traces its roots to the thinking of co-founder Michael Harrington, who once called for building a realistic and viable left-wing movement. But according to New Republic, recent polls show that approximately 40% of Americans view socialism positively, with a clear majority of people under 30 also having favorable views of the concept — a public opinion base that helps explain why candidates like Mamdani can win with explicit support from Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a rally at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens in late October 2025.
What people should watch next is the 2026 midterm primary elections, where the number of DSA candidates participating will be the real test of whether this trend is limited to ultra-progressive cities or is spreading into more competitive areas — where election results directly affect control of the U.S. Congress.