In 2017, the Democratic Socialists of America received a wave of media attention as it swelled in size and prominence. The 35-year-old organization had long been on the fringes of left-wing politics, but after Donald Trump’s shocking victory, it experienced a membership surge that demonstrated young Americans’ interest in socialism. Following a series of high-profile campaigns, the 501(c)(4)’s membership numbers have again surged—DSA membership went from less than 10,000 in 2016 to over 85,000 today.
The socialist-leftist movement that gathered itself behind Bernie Sanders in 2020 was ultimately unsuccessful in getting him elected. But the DSA’s activities go far beyond electoral work—in fact, some socialists remain skeptical of electoral politics altogether, seeing both major parties as handmaidens to a corrupt capitalist system. Many DSA chapters engage in work like establishing brake light clinics where they provide simple no-cost car repairs; since the escalation of the pandemic, the groups have focused on mutual aid and advocating for eviction moratoriums and rent forgiveness.
In a project that has been little-noticed by national media, the DSA has been leveraging its membership to win elections on the local level, using an unconventional strategy that it hopes will allow its local chapters to build power and influence.
In 2018, this strategy was laid out by the DSA’s National Political Committee in a document that worked to assuage election-skeptic leftists’ concerns while emphasizing how the DSA would differ from other progressive organizations. Liberal groups often endorse aligned candidates, spend money to elect them, and deploy volunteers to assist their campaigns. The problem, the DSA believes, is that when these candidates assume office, these groups have little leverage over them. “After a successful race, the candidate possesses not only elected office and the power of incumbency, but all of the resources (staff, skills, experience, a donor list) required to run a successful campaign and stay in office; the organization, meanwhile, has little leverage over the candidate and little to show for the work of its volunteers,” the Political Committee wrote.
The DSA’s model is different in that it emphasizes building field operations that are run by local chapters, not the politicians they endorse. The DSA chapters are the ones who train canvassers and control the messages they share with voters; they also collect and retain data they get from door-knocking. The goal is to build a machine that can not only successfully run campaigns, but one day recruit candidates.
The strategy document admits that “few if any DSA chapters currently have the skills, experience and capacity to fully embody” this goal. But some chapters have already won elections in big liberal cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, and in the Bay Area, relying on energetic, passionate volunteers who helped challenge longtime incumbents who may have grown lazy.
The highest-profile example of this was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 victory over incumbent New York Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley, which was aided by her social media presence and favorable press coverage, but was also fueled by a relentless, year-long canvassing and organizing operation. Julia Salazar, an AOC-endorsed DSA candidate who knocked off New York State Senator Martin Dilan in a primary later that year, followed the same playbook. (Direct outreach to voters probably helped Salazar overcome a bizarre controversy over whether she lied about being Jewish, working-class and an immigrant.)
New York City has become the DSA's relative stronghold: In 2020, Salazar was reelected and four DSA-endorsed candidates from the outer boroughs won seats in the state legislature. Not many places have an activist left as powerful as NYC's, but the organization is attempting to replicate its success in other parts of the country, even rural areas.
Helped by how-to guides from experienced canvassers, DSA chapters have turned themselves into effective campaign operations, at least when it comes to races where votes are counted by the hundreds. This year in Rhode Island’s State House District 7, a team of canvassers reportedly knocked on every door at least twice in support of DSA-back challenger David Morales, who went on to win the primary against the incumbent, 875 to 500, and was unopposed in the general. Community organizer Rick Krajewski handily beat a 35-year-old incumbent for a Pennsylvania State House District, thanks in part to a DSA endorsement. In a high-profile Los Angeles City Council race, DSA-backed activist Nithya Ramen pushed out incumbent David Ryu after portraying him as insufficiently progressive on homelessness and policing in particular. And six DSA members now serve on the 50-member Chicago City Council.
It’s possible to overstate the impact of these victories, which have tended to be in small races where the overwhelming majority of voters are progressives. Swing districts have so far been unfriendly terrain for left-wing congressional candidates, complicating the socialist argument that outspoken Bernie-style Democrats can win everywhere. In other cases, like Cori Bush’s recent primary victory over longtime Democratic Rep. Lacy Clay, it’s unclear whether DSA support was the determining factor, since so many progressive organizations teamed up behind Bush. The Green Party can claim to have won a number of elections at the local level—no one counts the Greens as a rising electoral force.
But the DSA is growing in power, albeit slowly, and it has a clearly defined strategy for how to build that power. Rather than trying to create an alternative to the Democratic Party, the DSA is trying to become a power broker in areas where Democrats dominate politics. This allows them to win in two ways: first, by simply unseating insufficiently radical incumbents, and second, by pressuring Democrats to support DSA priorities or face competitive primaries. In local races, this strategy doesn’t require the DSA to have a huge membership, since a committed corps of activists can have an outsized influence on such a contest, even if the incumbent has a money advantage.
The DSA doesn’t win every race, but it doesn’t need to: By building its power at a local level, it is sending a clear message to the establishment Democrats who are its adversaries.
Update: This article was updated to include updated numbers on DSA membership.
