Democratic congressional candidate Melat Kiros speaks after winning the Democratic nomination during a primary election night watch party at The Broadway, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Rebecca Slezak) Should Americans celebrate 250 years of liberal democracy by forsaking it for socialism? Such is the implausible demand of leftwing insurgents trying to take over the Democratic Party in deep blue cities.
Their timing couldn’t be worse. The Trump dreadnought has capsized, thanks to its skipper’s megalomaniacal delusions and ineptitude. Democrats are poised to retake at least one House of Congress in the midterm election. Now come democratic socialists to throw Republicans a political lifeline by associating Democrats with radical postures offensive to working Americans.
The socialists’ urban surge began with last fall’s mayoral victories of Zohran Mamdani in New York and Katie Wilson in Seattle. The streak continued this year with primary victories by Janeese Lewis George in Washington, D.C. and State Rep. Chris Rabb in Philadelphia. Last month, three Mamdani-endorsed congressional candidates in New York — Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Brad Lander — won primaries in heavily Democratic districts.
Democratic socialists scored again Tuesday in Denver, where Melat Kiros, 29, ousted the very progressive Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s Democratic primary. That seemed less an ideological than a generational shift, however, since DeGette, 74, is no centrist.
Socialist gains thus far have been confined to cities and college towns that already are Democratic bastions. Replacing one Democrat with a leftier one doesn’t help the party build a national majority. That requires picking pragmatic candidates who can win swing districts and states.
And socialist “energy” and militancy won’t do Democrats much good if it pushes them even farther out of the political mainstream. Already, U.S. voters say Democrats are “too liberal.”
In New York, Valdez and Avila Chevalier defeated liberal Democrats in congressional primaries with the backing of the left wing Democratic Socialists of America organization.
Valdez, a union organizer, won a district dubbed the “commie corridor” owing to its high concentration of young college grads. Avila Chevalier holds a degree in Middle East Studies from Columbia and teaches sociology at City University of New York.
Both recite the standard Democratic Socialists of America catechism: Open borders and abolish ICE; universalize rent control, adopt national health insurance, end U.S. support for Israel, nationalize industries and lower living costs by providing “free” college and other public subsidies.
In particular, Avila Chevalier’s strident leftism makes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), yesterday’s icon of democratic socialism, look like one of those Democratic “centrists” the socialist-types love to hate.
She called for the “total eradication of Western Civilization.” On Oct. 8, 2023 — the day after Hamas’s murderous rampage in Israel — she attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square. In addition to supposedly liberating Palestine, she for slashing U.S. defense spending and closing overseas bases, free college and cancelling all student debt, universal basic income, a federal jobs guarantee and a federally mandated 32-hour week.
Even as they infiltrate Democratic primaries, democratic socialists exhibit undisguised contempt for their adopted party. The Democratic Socialist manifesto, for example, bristles with criticism of “corporate” Democrats as well as America’s all-around rottenness.
Free enterprise — socialists call it “racial capitalism” — is identified as the root of all evils: poverty, inequality, racism, the climate crisis and war. The Democratic Socialists of America call for shutting down “the U.S. war machine” and ending “economic warfare” against Cuba, Venezuela and Iran.
Coursing through all democratic socialist rhetoric is a visceral loathing for Israel that is hard to distinguish from antisemitism. The Palestinians’ plight weirdly crowds out all the world’s other injustices. The Democratic Socialist manifesto says little about Ukraine’s fight for freedom or Sudan’s agony, and offers nary a cross word for Russia, China, Iran or other harshly repressive police states.
Most disingenuous is the socialist claim to speak for average working people. “Working people won,” Mamdani crowed after his primary wins. The socialist manifesto is titled “Workers Deserve More.”
That’s a nice sentiment, but the real audience for socialism is college graduates, not America’s non-college majority. Outside of blue metros, you won’t see many working people rocking Karl Marx t-shirts at July 4 parties.
Lander did very well in Manhattan and Brooklyn with young, well-educated and wealthy voters. The only demographic he didn’t win was low-income voters. Likewise, Mamdani tellingly lost the proletariat in his own mayoral primary. He defeated Andrew Cuomo 57-38 among college grads but lost non-college voters 48-40 percent.
Democratic socialism is a European import with shallow roots in U.S. soil. After the liberal revolutions of 1989, the demise of Soviet communism and China’s turn to market competition, it seemed well and truly dead.
Young activists who want to resurrect it don’t seem eager to reckon with the well-documented failure of “actually existing” socialism to safeguard individual liberty and dignity, establish the impartial rule of law, generate broad prosperity, or protect the natural environment.
Democrats, who historically shunned utopian socialism, ought to stick to their guns and keep fighting for America’s liberal ideals.
Will Marshall is founder and president of Progressive Policy Institute.
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Andrew Cuomo Andrew Cuomo Bernie Sanders Brad Lander Chris Rabb Claire Valdez Democrat Darializa Avila Chevalier Democratic Party democratic socialism Democratic Socialists of America Diana DeGette Donald Trump DSA Janeese Lewis George Karl Marx Katie Wilson Melat Kiros New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rep. Diana DeGette Zohran Mamdani Zohran MamdaniCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Comments: Link copiedMore Opinions - Campaign News
See All
Opinions - Campaign The man deciding between food and gas will decide the midterms by Michael Starr Hopkins, opinion contributor 21 hours ago Opinions - Campaign / 21 hours ago 
