The Democratic Socialists of America was once a fringe movement. Its recent victories confirm it is now an increasingly powerful national political force.
Over one week in June, DSA-backed challengers toppled two veteran House Democrats. Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, while in Colorado, Melat Kiros unseated 15-term Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), who had served since 1997.
The DSA’s primary election victories catapulted new political stars into the national spotlight and gave the movement further proof that it can defeat senior Democrats and reshape the party’s delegation.
Yet the proverbial Democratic elephant in the room has become nationally consequential: If the DSA operates like a political party, why does it continue running candidates through another one?
The DSA describes itself as “not a party,” while its program says it is “building a party.” That program calls for abolishing the Senate and Electoral College, replacing the presidency and Supreme Court with institutions subordinate to Congress, and establishing public ownership of major corporations.
These are not minor policy differences. They reflect a vision that would fundamentally alter the country’s constitutional structure.
At the same time, the DSA recruits candidates, raises money, mobilizes volunteers, makes endorsements, and advances a national platform. In practice, it functions like a party — except it rarely runs candidates under its own name, instead relying on the Democratic ballot line while often opposing the party it uses to gain access.
This is not Republican framing. I am a Democrat who has worked to elect Democrats and opposed DSA-backed candidates. I’ve seen Trump’s policies play out in New York, and public service in the New York State Assembly showed me the damage a Republican-controlled legislature can do.
Brooklyn illustrates the dynamic. As home to the nation’s largest county Democratic organization, it includes both deep-blue districts decided in primaries and competitive South Brooklyn seats where Republicans can win.
In South Brooklyn, I worked on Democratic nominee Joey Cohen-Saban’s 2024 Assembly campaign, where he came within 270 votes of defeating a Republican incumbent. A small shift in turnout could have flipped the seat.
In the next cycle, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — whose media strategy I advised — lost the mayoral race to DSA-backed Zohran Mamdani, whose strong ground operation helped elevate him to national prominence.
This June, I advised a candidate in a competitive Bed-Stuy primary for the 56th Assembly District. The race drew national attention after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) endorsed DSA challenger Eon Huntley, who defeated the Democratic incumbent.
Taken together, these contests show why primaries matter and that incumbency is not entitlement. But they also show a cost. When money, staff, and volunteer energy are concentrated in ideological battles in safely Democratic districts, fewer resources remain for competitive races that can decide control of Congress or the Senate.
DSA supporters reasonably argue that America’s two-party system makes independent organizing difficult and that separate socialist candidacies could help Republicans. But an organization calling for multiparty democracy should help create one, not depend indefinitely on the Democratic ballot line. And in deep-Blue districts, the DSA and Dems could attempt to align when their resources are best consolidated.
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A distinct Democratic Socialist Party would give voters a clearer choice while still allowing Democrats and socialists to cooperate where their goals align. It would also allow Democrats to focus more resources on defeating Republicans in competitive races.
Brooklyn and national deep-blue victories show that these implications are national. If the DSA believes America needs another political party, it should build one under its own banner — and help create the system everyone who is anti-Republican wants.
James Christopher is the founder of a Democratic political communications and public relations firm and former press secretary for the Brooklyn Democratic Party.