Backed by New York City’s socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani and far-left organizations, multiple Democratic Socialists of America candidates scored major victories in this week’s Democratic primaries in New York City. These wins not only signal a growing socialist influence in U.S. politics but also set the stage for a major push heading into the 2026 midterms and beyond.
The most striking upset came in New York’s 13th Congressional District, which includes Manhattan and the Bronx, where 32-year-old Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. A Columbia University doctoral student with no prior elected experience, Chevalier was recruited by Justice Democrats — the same group that propelled Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress. She is widely viewed as ideologically even further left than Ocasio-Cortez.
Chevalier co-founded Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group whose stated goals include undermining Western civilization, endorsing “liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance,” and expressing support for Hamas. She participated in pro-Palestinian rallies immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks and helped lead the chaotic anti-Israel encampments at Columbia. She also champions core DSA priorities such as abolishing ICE, defunding the police, and Medicare for All, and has posted disparaging comments about the American flag.
Similar victories went to two other Mamdani- and DSA-backed candidates: state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez of New York’s 7th Congressional District, who won the open seat left by retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez, and former City Comptroller Brad Lander of New York’s 10th Congressional District who defeated Rep. Dan Goldman. Both are unapologetic democratic socialists running on slogans such as “Tax the Rich. Abolish ICE. Free Palestine.” They demand an end to U.S. “complicity” in what they call Israel’s “genocide and apartheid” and the cutting of military aid. Valdez was arrested in 2025 while protesting outside the offices of Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand over U.S. support for Israel.
In addition to these three congressional candidates, there were several notable wins for DSA-aligned candidates in state legislative races. One such candidate, Aber Kawas, won a state Senate primary despite claiming that 9/11 was “America’s fault” due to “our system of capitalism, racism, white supremacy, and Islamophobia.”
Because New York City is a deep-blue stronghold, these primary victories virtually guarantee general election wins. The results amplify socialism’s power in America’s largest city, extend its influence statewide and nationally, and elevate Mamdani as a major political figure on the left, even as he struggles with the day-to-day governance of New York. He may soon replace the Obamas and become the new kingmaker on the left.
Three Key Takeaways
First, the DSA has transformed from a fringe activist network into a sophisticated and effective political machine. With more than 100,000 members, it is systematically capturing Democratic primaries in deep-blue cities. Mamdani’s mayoral victory was not an anomaly but a surefire sign of a broader socialist takeover of the Democratic Party.
In Seattle, self-described socialist Katie Wilson was elected mayor in 2025. In Los Angeles, DSA-backed incumbents secured reelection handily, and Nithya Raman advanced to the mayoral runoff. In Washington, D.C., DSA-aligned Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary for mayor, and Aparna Raj captured the Ward 1 Council seat. These candidates are typically young, highly educated, ideologically extreme, and lacking in real-world governing or private-sector experience — yet they claim to represent the working class. These socialist politicians’ rise signals that the DSA is reshaping the landscape of American politics.
Second, the Democratic Party’s drift to the far left over the past two decades is largely responsible for the party’s demise today. For decades, leaders from Nancy Pelosi to Barack Obama normalized once-fringe ideas on open borders, identity politics, speech restrictions, and ever-larger government. Progressive allies in teachers unions and academia have spent years indoctrinating students with Marxist frameworks, critical race theory, anti-capitalism, and narratives that paint America as irredeemably racist and colonialist. The result is a generation of young, college-educated voters who view socialism favorably and America with suspicion, creating the demographic base fueling electoral successes for the DSA.
For example, an exit poll following Mamdani’s election revealed that most of his supporters held bachelor’s degrees or higher. Similarly, after Tuesday’s Democratic primary, journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon noted that while Chevalier claimed to champion the working class, she performed poorly in predominantly black, Hispanic, and lower-income neighborhoods. Ultimately, it was the young, college-educated, and higher-income voters who secured her electoral victory, underscoring the changing dynamics of the left’s voter base.
The Democratic Party establishment is making a grave mistake if it thinks it can secure its power by aligning closely with the far left. The Wall Street Journal revealed that Rep. Adriano Espaillat endorsed Mamdani during his mayoral campaign last year, expecting that Mamdani would reciprocate during the upcoming Democratic primary. Instead, Mamdani endorsed Espaillat’s DSA opponent, Avila Chevalier, who then defeated Espaillat. Loyalty is a one-way street with the DSA.
Third, Republicans should not celebrate the Democratic Party’s internal collapse. While it might open up short-term political gains, a Democratic Party increasingly dominated by socialists poses a much more significant long-term risk to our nation, because these DSA-aligned politicians advocate for an explicitly anti-capitalist and anti-American agenda: promoting policies such as wealth confiscation, defunding law enforcement, diminishing support for allies like Israel, and maintaining close ties with America’s adversaries such as China. The rise of DSA in mainstream politics in America and the implementation of their ideas could cause more severe damage to our economy, national security, and social cohesion than any previous Democratic administration has inflicted.
The primary results present Republicans with a clear strategic opportunity: actively reach out and invest in the very demographics the DSA claims to represent but consistently fails to win: low-income inner-city communities and working-class minorities. These groups are bearing the real costs of leftist policies such as rising crime, failing schools, and economic stagnation. By offering practical, results-driven conservative solutions, Republicans can peel away voters the socialist left takes for granted.
As America stands on the eve of its 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, the country faces a defining choice. A radical faction inside the Democratic Party now openly rejects our founding principles and the free enterprise system that built the most successful nation in history. The socialist left wants a revolution inside America: to tear down and replace the system that delivered unparalleled freedom and prosperity. Should the Democratic Party fully surrender to the DSA, it will not merely seal its own fate. It will threaten to pull the entire American experiment into decline at the very moment we should be celebrating and renewing what made the last 250 years extraordinary.
