DSA celebrates 'Socialist Surge' after midterms, but large Dem majority means less influence
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majority → celebrate → influence
Socialist leaders say their expanded House bloc will push for an arms embargo on Israel and withhold support from Democratic leadership until their demands are met.
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demands → say → leadership
But, with such a large House majority for Democrats their diluted influence may not move the centrists who outnumber them.
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who → move → them
Following the midterm elections, the Democratic Socialists of America celebrated victories across the country in what they termed a “socialist surge” that brought six new lawmakers into federal office and hundreds into local office.
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that → follow → office
But, the sizable Democratic majority means the group’s small contingent will have a more difficult time extracting concessions from a party leadership not as welcoming to some radical left ideas.
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contingent → mean → ideas
“DSA just had our biggest election cycle ever,” said DSA Co-chair Ashik Siddique in a livestream days after the election.
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Siddique → have → election
“So, millions of people across the country showed a very clear signal that Americans are rejecting Trumpism and the rise of the far right,” he said.
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he → show → right
“But, more importantly for us, millions of people voted for socialists on our issues this election.”
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millions → vote → issues
Siddique later celebrated, “We’ve quadrupled our presence in Congress.”
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We → celebrate → Congress
Six new socialists head to the House
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socialists → head → House
The six new members, all elected in safe Democratic districts, are Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez of New York, Melat Kiros of Colorado, Angela Gonzales-Torres of California, Donavan McKinney of Michigan and Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania, according to the Associated Press race calls.
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members → elect → calls
They join Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., bringing the DSA bloc in the House to eight.
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They → join → eight
Abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Medicare for All were two central DSA planks that were in nearly every campaign platform.
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that → abolish → platform
Kiros, who ousted a 30-year incumbent in the primary, pledged on her campaign website that she would “always stand for Medicare for All, Housing First, Universal Childcare, and an Arms Embargo.”
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she → oust → All
Rabb has backed state-owned grocery stores, and his campaign website calls for the U.S. to “immediately dismantle the military industrial complex.”
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U.S. → back → complex
Gonzales-Torres, who unseated Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez, ran on affordable housing, abolishing ICE and rooting out corruption.
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who → unseat → corruption
Just the News previously reported on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s efforts to reshape the city’s congressional delegation.
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News → report → delegation
Candidates he backed, like Chevalier and Valdez, will head to Congress.
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he → back → Congress
Allies outside the organization
Several Democrats sympathetic to the DSA, particularly those who remain close to the organization’s policies and networks, also won.
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who → remain → policies
Brad Lander, who was a former member of the DSA, won New York’s 10th District with the backing of Mamdani.
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who → win → Mamdani
Rep. Aisha Wahab, who is not a DSA member but was recommended by California DSA, won a full term in the seat vacated by former Rep. Eric Swalwell.
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who → recommend → Swalwell
Will Lawrence, a Sunrise Movement co-founder and former DSA member, defeated Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th District.
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Lawrence → defeat → District
Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s open seat but has kept his distance from the group, saying, “I’m not technically or practically DSA,” despite sharing many of the same policy goals.
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I → win → goals
None of the incoming DSA members has publicly committed to Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who said in August, “I don’t support the DSA agenda, as has been articulated by the DSA itself.
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I → commit → DSA
”
“As of right now, my vote is no,” Gonzales-Torres told Democracy Now on Monday.
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Torres → tell → Monday
“What I don’t know is what Representative Hakeem Jeffries is offering my community.”
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Jeffries → know → community
Before the election, Siddique said DSA and its endorsed candidates would set negotiating positions together, and the group weighed demanding committee seats and a democratic socialist caucus, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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Journal → say → seats
DSA’s endorsement questionnaires asked candidates whether they would coordinate with the organization, consider fellow socialists for staff jobs and oppose military aid to Israel.
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they → ask → Israel
However, the size of the Democratic Party’s victory in last week’s midterms means that the DSA's leverage has its limits.
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leverage → mean → limits
Democrats so far have secured more than 250 seats in the House of Representatives.
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Democrats → secure → Representatives
With only a simple majority of voting members required to elect the speaker — 218 or more — Jeffries could lose all eight DSA votes on most measures and still come out on top.
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Jeffries → vote → top
There are more potential pitfalls for the DSA as their members take seats in Washington.
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members → be → Washington
Despite the successful national Democratic messaging on affordability, the DSA is hyperfocused on a set of post-election priorities that have little to do with dinner-table issues, such as reining in high gas prices or making groceries more affordable.
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groceries → have → prices
For example, the DSA’s leaders highlighted cutting off aid and scuppering the alliance with Israel as one of the organization’s top priorities.
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leaders → highlight → priorities
They are also focusing on Medicare for all and abolishing ICE.
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They → focus → ICE
“We are going to implement an arms embargo from below, a people’s arms embargo,” National Political Committee member Francesca Maviglia said on the call.
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Maviglia → go → call
DSA’s National Arms Embargo Campaign, launched Oct. 29, targets Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems and United Airlines, which DSA accuses of flying military cargo to Israel.
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DSA → launch → Israel
In Congress, the bloc has promised to support the Block the Bombs Act, which would restrict certain U.S. weapons transfers to Israel.
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which → promise → Israel
A DSA national resolution calls the bill “a step towards a full arms embargo.”
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resolution → call → embargo
President Trump said Nov. 3 that the U.S. would stop roughly $4 billion in annual aid to Israel, citing Democratic attacks on the aid.
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U.S. → say → aid
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
