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Democratic socialists are setting their sights on Colorado, Wisconsin and beyond after a romp of victories in New York added fuel to the progressive movement.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) burst into the spotlight with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s election last year and expanded its influence with a pair of wins this past week in high-profile House primaries, including one that unseated a top House Democrat.
But the weeks ahead could be a key test of just how much power the so-called Mamdani effect has outside of New York City, where most of the DSA base is concentrated, as DSA candidates compete in upcoming primaries in Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida.
“New York City, we think, is really reflecting where the whole country is going at this point, so we’re very excited, and we want to keep building from it,” DSA co-Chair Ashik Siddique told The Hill. “Increasingly we’re showing that candidates running on strong platforms like these can win in red or purple states, in the Midwest and the South.”
This past week’s New York primaries saw democratic socialist candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier win their Democratic primaries, backed by Mamdani and the New York City chapter of the DSA. Avila Chevalier notably defeated Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), a progressive Mamdani ally and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
The DSA, which is a nonprofit activist group and not a political party, aims to transform American politics with progressive change and a rejection of capitalist structures. It’s grown from around 5,000 members nearly a decade ago to more than 100,000 members in 200 chapters across the country, organizers said.
In addition to the New York wins this past week, the DSA prevailed in the Washington, D.C., mayoral primary, while a democratic socialist candidate advanced to this fall’s mayoral runoff in Los Angeles.
But experts cautioned against overinterpreting the wins in blue enclaves like the Big Apple and the nation’s capital.
“Races in some of the most liberal districts in the country don’t tell us very much about the strength of the left in the competitive races Democrats have to win to seize back control of Congress,” analysts at the nonpartisan election handicapper the Cook Political Report wrote in an assessment of the New York City progressive wins.
And it hasn’t been a perfect winning streak for the DSA or progressives. Maryland’s state Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) defeated progressive challenger Bobby LaPin, who had positioned himself as DSA-aligned. And in New York, Assemblymember Jordan Wright also beat a DSA challenger.
In Utah, former Rep. Ben McAdams (D) won a Tuesday primary for the state’s new blue-dot district, besting a slate of progressive challengers, including Nate Blouin, a candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). After his loss, Blouin posted on social platform X that he had joined the DSA.
“I think we need a lot more races and a lot more data to determine whether this is anything more than a moment in time inspired by a generational political talent like Zohran Mamdani,” said Wisconsin Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki, calling the excitement over the New York wins “pretty overblown” as he pointed to the handful of losses elsewhere.
“Capturing lightning in a bottle is pretty tough, and I’m not sure that any of these folks in New York City, or anywhere else across the country, are Mamdani-level communicators and Mamdani-level charisma.”
The next test for the DSA will come this upcoming week in Colorado, where 29-year-old democratic socialist Melat Kiros is challenging 68-year-old Rep. Diana DeGette (D), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the longest-serving lawmaker from her state.
Backed by Sanders and the DSA, Kiros is putting up a serious fight in the 1st Congressional District, which has seen an influx of young, college-educated residents in recent years.
In August, the Detroit DSA branch is supporting Donavan McKinney, a 34-year-old state lawmaker, in his challenge against Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), who at 71 is running for a third term in the 13th Congressional District. In the neighboring Michigan 12th Congressional District, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D), a member of the progressive House “squad” that includes fellow DSA member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), is vying for a fifth term.
And in Wisconsin, 37-year-old state lawmaker Francesca Hong is running in a wide-open race to become the next governor of the Badger State, replacing retiring Gov. Tony Evers (D). Sparse polling has signaled a surge of momentum for the democratic socialist ahead of the August primary. Backed by the Madison and Milwaukee DSA branches, she placed second behind Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (D) in a straw poll at the state’s Democratic Party convention earlier this month.
If Hong can pull off a primary win for the seat that’s considered a toss-up this cycle, it would be “a huge bellwether” for the democratic socialist movement and a “next-level” win after success in New York, putting Hong on a path to become the country’s first socialist governor, Siddique said.
But other political observers argue that the success of DSA candidates comes more from voters’ appetite for change, rather than for the DSA platform specifically — which includes sweeping goals to get rid of the two-party system via proportional representation, increase the amount of House seats and have the president be elected by the popular vote.
“It is very easy to see the American public is not satisfied with what it is getting from its elected representatives,” Zepecki said. “And so if somebody emerges who is able to effectively communicate the role that government can play to make … a shot at the American dream just a little bit more within reach, of course that’s going to resonate.”
DSA-backed Oliver Larkin is also aiming for a win this year in red Florida, where he’s up against Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D) in an August primary for the 23rd Congressional District. It’s a toss-up district where, if Larkin were to win, some Democrats fear Republicans would gain the upper hand for the general election.
“It’s always important to kind of keep these things in context, that, by and large, normies are still winning most of these primaries around the country,” said Florida Democratic strategist Steve Schale, pointing to this week’s Utah result.
Schale also raised concerns that democratic socialist wins in New York and elsewhere could become a liability for fellow Democrats. He referenced controversial, now-deleted posts from New York’s Avila Chevalier, which a CNN report found included posts expressing support for abolishing police and borders and calling into question Israel’s right to exist, among other issues.
“I mean, normal Democrats who are trying to beat Republicans are going to answer for that s‑‑‑ over and over and over again,” Schale said.
President Trump, who has called Mamdani a “communist,” weighed in Friday, warning that “the Democrat Party is in big trouble because this isn’t stopping with New York” in a potential preview of midterm attacks tying the left-wing candidates to the party at large.
The DSA, though, says it’s not taking anything for granted in the wake of its New York City wins while projecting optimism about growing the movement across the country.
“Before the primary day on Tuesday, I think a lot of people in New York were assuming we were behind, and that that was motivating to work even harder,” Siddique said. “I think this politics really resonates anywhere where we organize seriously enough to talk to enough people.”
Tara Suter contributed.
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Adriano Espaillat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Ben McAdams Bernie Sanders Diana DeGette Rashida Tlaib Shri Thanedar Tony Evers Zohran MamdaniCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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