Candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America have scored victories in 35 primary elections so far this year, including upsets against entrenched incumbents.
The DSA has backed 150 candidates this cycle: 35 advanced from their primaries or were unopposed, while 34 have lost. Some of the wins include incumbents in federal or local government. The remaining results are still outstanding.
DSA-backed candidates sent shockwaves through Congress after two high-profile congressional primaries in New York on Tuesday.
Darializa Avila Chevalier upset Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. Avila Chevalier helped found Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group that has called for “death to America” on social media. Avila Chevalier also quipped about how she wiped her hand on the American flag, rather than on a napkin, in a 2019 Tweet.
State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, meanwhile, trounced Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso by 20 points. Valdez repeated dubious claims throughout the primary election that her opponent was tied to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, denied involvement in the race.
The DSA counts New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) as its most prominent members. It has become a formidable electoral force within the broader Democratic coalition, especially as DSA-backed candidates have won nearly half of their races so far in the 2026 midterm elections.
SOCIALISM IS BACK. AMERICA SHOULD REMEMBER WHY IT FAILED
While socialist candidates clinched high-profile victories on Tuesday, they have found success in down-ballot races, too. DSA-backed candidates have succeeded in local races in Oregon, California, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Utah, Maryland, and New York. The DSA counted 14 wins and nine losses in 2025’s off-cycle elections.
The party’s next major test is Tuesday in Denver, where 29-year-old graduate student Melat Kiros is challenging Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), who has been in Congress since 1997. Janeese Lewis George, the socialist Washington, D.C., mayoral favorite, is also backed by the DSA.