US socialism gains ground after midterm wins

Politicians embracing the socialist label gained ground in November's US midterms, with Democratic Socialists of America members now leading New York and Los Angeles and DSA-endorsed candidates expanding their presence in Congress and local offices.

DSA-endorsed politicians increased their congressional seats from two to eight and won dozens of local elections. Members of the group now lead cities including the country's two largest.

Cara Tobe, the DSA's communications chair, said Democratic wins in the midterms would not have been possible without what she called a socialist surge. She said voters were becoming less wary of the word socialism and that Democrats' focus on affordability reflected DSA priorities.

Some scholars were more cautious. Stephen Ansolabehere of Harvard University said the result was a broad Democratic win. Hans Noel of Georgetown University said DSA-aligned candidates did well mostly in primaries and strongly Democratic areas, and attributed Democratic success to dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump.

The DSA was founded in 1982 and had about 6,000 dues-paying supporters in 2015. It now has more than 130,000 members, according to the supplied figures.

The socialist label has gained visibility through figures including Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Nithya Raman, a DSA member, was elected mayor of Los Angeles on a platform focused on infrastructure and affordability.

Trump has attacked DSA candidates as communists. Noel said DSA candidates are closer to social democracy than to more radical forms of socialism. Tobe said voters are looking for change on housing, food and healthcare after failures by both major parties.