Democratic Socialists of America see record wins in US midterm elections
The left-wing movement has won support for its views on issues like the war in Gaza and universal healthcare.
A record number of candidates for federal offices who were backed by or affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) won in Tuesday’s US midterm elections, marking the most successful night the left-leaning movement has had in national politics so far.
“This is a record for the DSA; these are numbers we have not seen in over a hundred years in socialist electoral activity,” National Electoral Commission member Chanpreet Singh said on a livestream on Tuesday night after the elections. The stream, broadcast on Twitch to more than 200,000 viewers, was hosted by political commentator Hasan Piker.
The political group saw a surge in membership in 2016, when Vermont’s US Senator Bernie Sanders, a prominent DSA member, ran unsuccessfully for president, bringing the movement’s views on issues like universal healthcare and housing to a broader audience. The election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City in 2025 brought more attention, and more members, to the DSA.
In Michigan, DSA member Rashida Tlaib was re-elected to her seat in the US House, member Donavan McKinney was elected to the body for the first time, and William Lawrence defeated a Republican candidate for a highly competitive US House seat.