The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
multi-tendency socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
and
labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
-oriented
political organization
A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in poli ...
. Its roots are in the
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...
(SPA), whose leaders included
Eugene V. Debs,
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian minister who achieved fame as a socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.
Early years
Thomas was the ...
and
Michael Harrington
Edward Michael Harrington Jr. (February 24, 1928 – July 31, 1989) was an American democratic socialist. As a writer, he was perhaps best known as the author of '' The Other America''. Harrington was also a political activist, theorist, profess ...
.
In 1973, Harrington, the leader of a minority faction that had opposed the SPA's transformation into the
Social Democrats, USA
Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) is a small political association of social democrats founded in 1972. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) had stopped running independent presidential candidates and consequently the term "party" in the SPA's na ...
(SDUSA) during the party's 1972 national convention, formed the
Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee
The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC; ) was a democratic socialist organization in the United States.
The DSOC was founded in 1973 by Michael Harrington, who had led a minority caucus in the Socialist Party of America and disagr ...
(DSOC). The DSOC, which Harrington described as "the remnant of a remnant", soon became the largest democratic socialist group in the United States. In 1982, it merged with the
New American Movement
The New American Movement (NAM) was an American New Left multi-tendency socialist and feminist political organization established in 1971.
The NAM continued an independent existence until 1983, when it merged with Michael Harrington's Democrati ...
(NAM), a coalition of intellectuals with roots in the
New Left
The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights ...
movements of the 1960s and former members of socialist and communist parties of the
Old Left
The Old Left was the pre-1960s left-wing in the Western world, the earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had often taken a more vanguardist approach to social justice and focused mostly on labor unionization and questions of social class i ...
.
Initially, the organization consisted of approximately 5,000 ex-DSOC members and 1,000 ex-NAM members. Upon the founding of the DSA, Harrington and the
socialist feminist
Socialist feminism rose in the 1960s and 1970s as an offshoot of the feminist movement and New Left that focuses upon the interconnectivity of the patriarchy and capitalism. However, the ways in which women's private, domestic, and public roles ...
author
Barbara Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich (, ; ; August 26, 1941 – September 1, 2022) was an American author and political activist. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she was a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She was a widely read and awa ...
were elected as co-chairs of the organization. The DSA has a stated goal of "
articipating infights for reforms today that will weaken the power of corporations and increase the power of working people." To achieve this goal, the organization has endorsed
Democratic presidential candidates, including
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...
,
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senato ...
,
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
,
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
and
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 20 ...
, as well as
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
candidate
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes.
The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...
and other
third party
Third party may refer to:
Business
* Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller
* Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party
* Third-party insurance, such as a V ...
candidates.
The DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States.
As of July 2021, the membership of the organization was reported at over 94,000 and the number of local chapters was 239.
The organization is credited with the rise of
millennial socialism;
in December 2017, the median age of its membership was 33, compared to 68 in 2013.
Though not a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in the conventional American understanding of the term, members of the DSA have run in elections and
held office. In November 2018, two DSA members,
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...
and
Rashida Tlaib, were elected to the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
as Democrats. Eleven were elected to
state legislatures.
In November 2020, Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib were re-elected to the House, and were joined by two more DSA members,
Cori Bush
Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976) is an American politician, registered nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist serving as the U.S. representative for . The district includes all of the city of St. Louis and most of northern St. Loui ...
and
Jamaal Bowman
Jamaal Anthony Bowman (born April 1, 1976) is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021. The district covers much of the north Bronx, as well as the southern half of Westchester County, including Mou ...
, who have also been seated as Democrats.
History
Early history and leadership
Formed in 1982 by the merger of the
Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee
The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC; ) was a democratic socialist organization in the United States.
The DSOC was founded in 1973 by Michael Harrington, who had led a minority caucus in the Socialist Party of America and disagr ...
(DSOC) and the
New American Movement
The New American Movement (NAM) was an American New Left multi-tendency socialist and feminist political organization established in 1971.
The NAM continued an independent existence until 1983, when it merged with Michael Harrington's Democrati ...
(NAM),
the DSA is a
501(c)(4)
A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
.
At its founding, it was said to consist of approximately 5,000 members from the DSOC, plus 1,000 from the NAM.
Dorothy Ray Healey
Dorothy Ray Healey (September 22, 1914 – August 6, 2006) was a long-time activist in the Communist Party USA, from the late 1920s to the 1970s. In the 1930s, she was one of the first union leaders to advocate for the rights of Chicanos and b ...
served as Vice Chair in 1982.
The DSA inherited both
Old Left
The Old Left was the pre-1960s left-wing in the Western world, the earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had often taken a more vanguardist approach to social justice and focused mostly on labor unionization and questions of social class i ...
and
New Left
The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights ...
heritage. The NAM was a successor to the disintegrated
Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...
. The DSOC was founded in 1973 from a minority anti-
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
caucus in the
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...
(SPA)—which had been renamed
Social Democrats, USA
Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) is a small political association of social democrats founded in 1972. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) had stopped running independent presidential candidates and consequently the term "party" in the SPA's na ...
(SDUSA). DSOC started with 840 members, of whom 2% had served on its national board, and approximately 200 of whom came from SDUSA or its predecessors (the
Socialist Party–Social Democratic Federation, formerly part of the SPA) in 1973, when the SDUSA stated its membership at 1,800 according to a 1973 profile of Harrington.
The red
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
is part of the official logo of the DSA,
having traditionally been a symbol of
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...
since the 1886
Haymarket Affair
The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square i ...
and the resulting
May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...
marches from the 19th century to the current day.
It was drawn from the logo of the DSOC, its precursor organization, and previously of the Socialist International, which shows a stylized fist clenching a red rose, the fist being substituted with a bi-racial
handshake
A handshake is a globally widespread, brief greeting or parting tradition in which two people grasp one of each other's like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up-and-down movement of the grasped hands. Customs surrounding handshakes a ...
pertaining to the DSA's staunch anti-racism.
The
fist and rose
The fist and rose, sometimes called the rose in the fist, is an emblem used or formerly used by a number of socialist and social democratic parties around the world.
It depicts a rose, symbolizing the promises of better life under a socialist g ...
logo had been originally designed for the French
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...
in 1969
and was later shared by socialist and labor political organizations worldwide.
Electoral politics and office-holding members
In electoral politics, the DSA was very strongly associated with
Michael Harrington
Edward Michael Harrington Jr. (February 24, 1928 – July 31, 1989) was an American democratic socialist. As a writer, he was perhaps best known as the author of '' The Other America''. Harrington was also a political activist, theorist, profess ...
's position that "the left wing of realism is found today in the Democratic Party". In its early years, the DSA opposed
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
presidential candidates by giving critical support to
Democratic Party nominees like
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...
in 1984.
In 1988, the DSA enthusiastically supported
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senato ...
's second presidential campaign.
Since 1995, the DSA's position on
American electoral politics has been that "democratic socialists reject an either-or approach to electoral coalition building, focused solely on a new party or on realignment within the Democratic Party".
During the 1990s, the DSA gave the
Clinton administration
Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over ...
an overall rating of C−, "less than satisfactory".
The DSA's elected leadership has often seen working within the Democratic Party as necessary rather than forming or support
third parties. That said, the DSA is very critical of the Democratic Party leadership, which the DSA argues is corporate-funded.
The organization has stated:
Presidential elections
In 2000, the DSA took no official position on the
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The p ...
, with several prominent DSA members backing
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
presidential candidate
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes.
The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...
while others supported
Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...
candidate
David McReynolds
David Ernest McReynolds (October 25, 1929 – August 17, 2018) was an American politician and social activist who was a prominent democratic socialist and pacifist activist. He described himself as "a peace movement bureaucrat" during his 40-yea ...
and others voting for Democratic nominee
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic ...
.
In 2004, the organization backed
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
after he won the Democratic nomination. In its official magazine, the DSA's
Political Action Committee said that a defeat for Kerry would be taken as a defeat of the mainstream left, but that "On the other hand, a Kerry victory will let us press onward, with progressives aggressively pressuring an administration that owed its victory to democratic mobilization from below."
The only resolution on upcoming elections at the DSA's 2005 convention focused on
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 20 ...
's independent campaign for the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
in
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
.
The organization's 2007 convention in Atlanta featured record-breaking attendance and more participation by the organization's youth wing. Sanders gave the keynote address.
In 2008, the DSA supported Democratic presidential candidate
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
in his race against Republican candidate
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...
. In an article written in the March 24 edition of ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
'', DSA members
Barbara Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich (, ; ; August 26, 1941 – September 1, 2022) was an American author and political activist. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she was a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She was a widely read and awa ...
and Bill Fletcher Jr., along with
Tom Hayden
Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...
and
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the '' Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films inclu ...
, announced the formation of Progressives for Obama,
arguing that Obama was the most progressive viable Democratic presidential candidate since
Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
Following Obama's election, many on the
political right
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, auth ...
began to allege that his administration's policies were "socialistic", a claim rejected by the DSA and the
Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
alike. The claim led DSA National Director Frank Llewellyn to declare that "over the past 12 months, the Democratic Socialists of America has received more media attention than it has over the past 12 years".
For the
2016 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*7 January: Kiri ...
, the DSA endorsed Sanders as its favored presidential candidate. Sanders' candidacy prompted a surge in DSA membership among young voters.
The DSA made it clear that Sanders'
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...
-inspired program did not fulfill the socialist aim of establishing social ownership of the economy, but considered his campaign to be a positive development in the context of contemporary American politics,
since he was a self-identified democratic socialist candidate as well as "a lifelong champion of the public programs and democratic rights that empower working class people".
The DSA ran the internally-focused #WeNeedBernie campaign to mobilize DSA supporters for Sanders.
After Sanders' defeat in the
2016 Democratic primaries, the DSA called for the defeat of Donald Trump, but did not officially endorse Democratic nominee
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
.
In 2020, the DSA endorsed
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 20 ...
after an advisory poll reported 76% of the participating membership approved his endorsement, despite there being objections from a part of the DSA membership concerning statements by Sanders on, among others,
slavery reparations
Reparations for slavery is the application of the concept of reparations to victims of slavery and/or their descendants. There are concepts for reparations in legal philosophy and reparations in transitional justice. Reparations can take numer ...
. No other candidates were included in the poll. After Sanders dropped out in April 2020, the DSA explicitly did not endorse the presumptive nominee
Joe Biden. Two DSA chapters (
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
and
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
) voted to endorse
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
candidate
Howie Hawkins
}
Howard Gresham Hawkins III (born December 8, 1952) is an American trade unionist, environmental activist, and perennial candidate from New York. A co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, Hawkins was the party's presidential nomin ...
.
In May 2020, the failure of the DSA to endorse Biden was criticised by 91 "founders, officers and activists" of the
Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...
(SDS) in the 1960s in an open letter "to the New New Left From the Old New Left" published in ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
''. Daniel Finn (on ''
Jacobin
, logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg
, logo_size = 180px
, logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794)
, motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir)
, successor = P ...
'') responded that in invoking the specter of
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...
under a second-term Trump, the former SDSers are engaging in "melodramatic hyperbole" and, on that
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
is not an issue that can wait until 2024 or 2028. "No socialist", he argued, "who campaigned for Bernie Sanders should feel guilty about abandoning
he Democratsand concentrating on building a movement that is the only real hope for the planet’s future".
Congress and other races
In the
United States elections of 2017, the DSA endorsed fifteen candidates for office, with the highest position gained being that of
Lee J. Carter in the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...
.
DSA members won 15 electoral offices in thirteen states, bringing the total to thirty-five (the DSA, having changed its electoral strategy at its national convention, had anticipated picking up approximately five seats):
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...
seats in
Pleasant Hill, Iowa
Pleasant Hill is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 10,147 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines metropolitan area. As of July 2005, Pleasant Hill was assigned a ZIP code, 50327.
History
Pleas ...
(
Ross Grooters),
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...
(
Denise Joy),
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the stat ...
(
Seema Singh Perez),
Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior, Wisconsin, Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: Downtown Dul ...
(
Joel Sipress) and
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area ...
(
JT Scott
JT may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Jakobstads Tidning'', a Finland-Swedish newspaper
* Jimma Times, owner of the Ethiopian newspaper ''Yeroo''
* ''Jornal da Tarde'', a Brazilian newspaper from São Paulo
* ''JT'' (album), 1977 album by James T ...
and
Ben Ewen-Campen); and the seat in the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...
contested by Carter, among other offices.
56% of the DSA members who ran in this election cycle won compared to the 20% previously in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
.
These results encouraged dozens more DSA members to run for office in the 2018 midterm elections.
![Rashida Tlaib, official portrait, 116th Congress](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Rashida_Tlaib%2C_official_portrait%2C_116th_Congress.jpg)
In the
2018 midterm elections
The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during Republican Donald Trump's term. Democrats made a net gain of 41 seats in the United States House of Representatives, gaining a majo ...
, the DSA had anticipated seeing the first DSA member in Congress and reaching 100 elected officials nationwide from its strategic down-ballot campaigns.
42 formally endorsed people were running for offices at the federal, state and local levels in 20 states, including Florida, Hawaii, Kansas and Michigan; Maine's
Zak Ringelstein
The 2018 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 6, 2018, alongside a gubernatorial election, U.S. House elections, and other state and local elections. Incumbent Independent Senator Angus King won reelection to a second ter ...
, a Democrat, was its sole senatorial candidate.
Local chapters have endorsed 110 candidates.
Four female DSA members (
Sara Innamorato,
Summer Lee,
Elizabeth Fiedler
Elizabeth A. Fiedler (born July 18, 1980) is an American politician who serves as a Democratic representative for the 184th district of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Early life and career
Fiedler was born on July 18, 1980, in Bl ...
and
Kristin Seale) won Democratic primary contests for seats in the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, with Innamorato and Lee defeating incumbents.
Additionally,
Jade Bahr
Jade Bahr (born December 28, 1988) is a Democratic Party politician and was a member Montana House of Representatives from District 50 who has served between 2019 and 2021.
Early life and education
Bahr was born in Crow Agency, Montana, and w ...
and
Amelia Marquez won their primaries in Montana for the
State House and
Jeremy Mele
Jeremy may refer to:
* Jeremy (given name), a given name
* Jérémy, a French given name
* ''Jeremy'' (film), a 1973 film
* "Jeremy" (song), a song by Pearl Jam
* Jeremy (snail), a left-coiled garden snail that died in 2017
* ''Jeremy'', a 1919 ...
won his primary for the
Maine House of Representatives.
In California,
Jovanka Beckles
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a left-wing multi-tendency socialist and labor-oriented political organization. Its roots are in the Socialist Party of America (SPA), whose leaders included Eugene V. Debs, Norman Thomas and Mich ...
won one of the top two spots in the primary and advanced to the general election for a
State Assembly seat in the
East Bay
The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...
.
On June 26, DSA member and endorsee
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...
won the Democratic primary against incumbent Representative
Joseph Crowley
Joseph Crowley (born March 16, 1962) is an American politician and consultant who served as U.S. Representative from New York's 14th congressional district from 1999 to 2019. He was defeated by Democratic primary challenger Alexandria Ocasio-C ...
in
New York's 14th congressional district
New York's 14th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York City, represented by Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The district includes the eastern part of The Bronx ...
in a surprise
upset, virtually guaranteeing her the congressional seat in the heavily Democratic district which spans parts of the Bronx and Queens.
Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi, however, dismissed the win as "not to be viewed as something that stands for anything else"
and argued that it only represented change in one progressive district.
Conversely, head of the
Democratic National Committee Tom Perez
Thomas Edward Perez (born October 7, 1961) is an American politician and attorney who served as the Chair of the Democratic National Committee from February 2017 until January 2021. Perez was previously Assistant Attorney General for Civil Righ ...
proclaimed her to be "the future of our party"
whereas the
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...
International Committee of the Fourth International
The International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) is the name of two Trotskyist internationals; one with sections named Socialist Equality Party which publishes the World Socialist Web Site, and another linked to the Workers Rev ...
critiqued her and the DSA as being a "left" cover for the "right-wing Democratic Party", particularly in regard to foreign policy.
Six weeks after Ocasio-Cortez's primary victory, DSA member and endorsee
Rashida Tlaib won the Democratic primary in
Michigan's 13th congressional district
Michigan's 13th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Wayne County, Michigan. It is currently represented by Democrat Shri Thanedar.
The district includes portions of Detroit and some of its suburbs, and it was t ...
.
Both Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib went on to win their respective general elections to become members of Congress. Ultimately, about a dozen members (or non-members who were endorsed) won office in their state legislatures.
In the aggregate, the DSA had backed 40 winning candidates at the state, county and municipal levels.
Ocasio-Cortez's victory and the subsequent publicity for the DSA led to more than 1,000 new members joining the organization the next day, approximately 35 times the daily average
and their largest ever one-day increase in membership.
These signups helped boost the organization to 42,000 members nationally in June 2018.
That number increased to 50,000 by September 1, 2018.
DSA members elected to Congress in 2018 include Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and incumbent
Danny K. Davis
Daniel K. Davis (born September 6, 1941) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative from , elected in 1996. The district serves much of western Chicago, including the Loop. It also includes several of Chicago's inner western subu ...
. DSA members elected to state legislatures in 2018 include
Hawaii Representative Amy Perruso,
New York Senator Julia Salazar
Julia Salazar (born December 30, 1990) is an American politician and activist. She is the New York State Senator for the 18th district, which covers much of northern Brooklyn, centered on Bushwick. She won the seat as a first-time candidate af ...
, and
Pennsylvania Representatives Fiedler, Innamorato, and Lee.
The
2019 Chicago aldermanic elections
The 2019 Chicago aldermanic election took place in two rounds on February 26 and April 2, 2019, to elect 50 aldermen to the Chicago City Council. Each alderman represents one of Chicago's 50 wards. The elections are non-partisan and use a two-ro ...
saw six DSA members elected to the 50-seat
Chicago City Council: incumbent
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (born February 18, 1989) is an American politician. He has served as the alderman for Chicago's 35th Ward since May 18, 2015.
He is a member of the Chicago City Council's Progressive Reform Caucus, and was elected to serve ...
as well as newcomers
Daniel La Spata
Daniel La Spata (born February 26, 1981) is a Chicago politician. He has served as the alderman of Chicago's 1st ward since May 2019. He won election to that office after defeating incumbent Proco Joe Moreno in the 2019 Chicago aldermanic election ...
,
Jeanette Taylor
Jeanette Beatrice Taylor (born May 16, 1975) is an American politician and community organizer. Taylor is the alderman of Chicago, Illinois' 20th ward, taking office as a member of the Chicago City Council in May 2019. She won an open race to succ ...
,
Byron Sigcho-Lopez
Byron Sigcho-Lopez (born July 7, 1983) is a Chicago politician and community activist. He is the alderman of Chicago's 25th ward, having taken office as a member of the Chicago City Council in May 2019. He won an open race to succeed outgoing ...
,
Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez
Rossana Rodríguez Sanchez (born November 13, 1978) is a Chicago politician and community organizer. She is the alderwoman of Chicago's 33rd ward, having taken office as a member of the Chicago City Council in May 2019. She won election to that of ...
, and
Andre Vasquez
Andre Vasquez (born May 21, 1979) is a Chicago politician, community organizer, and former rapper. He is the alderman of the city's 40th ward. He won election to that office after defeating incumbent Patrick O'Connor in the 2019 Chicago alderman ...
.
In the
2019 off-year elections, DSA members made further gains by capturing over a half dozen city council seats across the country, such as
Dean Preston
Dean E. Preston (born ) is an American attorney and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He founded Tenants Together, a California tenant advocacy organization. In November 2019, Preston won a special election to finish Mayor London ...
becoming the first democratic socialist elected to the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors in forty years,
while
Lee Carter Lee Carter may refer to:
* Lee Carter (baseball), American baseball player
*Lee Carter (comics), British fantasy artist
* Lee Carter (''EastEnders''), fictional character
* Lee J. Carter (born 1987), member of the Virginia House of Delegates
* Vipe ...
won reelection in the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...
.
In the
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
elections, at least thirty-six DSA members won office, earning more than 3.1 million votes.
The DSA elected four of its members to the
US House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, including incumbents
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...
(
NY-14
New York's 14th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York City, represented by Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The district includes the eastern part of The Bronx ...
) and
Rashida Tlaib (
MI-13) and newly elected members
Jamaal Bowman
Jamaal Anthony Bowman (born April 1, 1976) is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021. The district covers much of the north Bronx, as well as the southern half of Westchester County, including Mou ...
(
NY-16) and
Cori Bush
Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976) is an American politician, registered nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist serving as the U.S. representative for . The district includes all of the city of St. Louis and most of northern St. Loui ...
(
MO-1). DSA members were unsuccessful in being elected to the House in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
(
WV-2),
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
(
MS-1) and
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
(
CA-12).
In
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
,
Marquita Bradshaw
Marquita Bradshaw (born January 19, 1974) is an American environmentalist, activist, and former political candidate. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United States Senate election in Tennessee, the first African American woman to win a ...
won the Democratic nomination for the
2020 Senate election in an upset. Initially not nationally endorsed, she was endorsed by the
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
-
Midsouth chapter of DSA and after her victory in the primary she was also endorsed by the other Tennessee DSA chapters in
Knoxville
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...
,
Chattanooga,
Middle and
Northeast Tennessee. She lost the general election against
Bill Hagerty.
State and local offices
In 2020, the DSA made significant gains in the
state legislatures. Over thirty DSA members and endorsed (either nationally or by local chapters) candidates were elected in sixteen states, including five in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and seven in
New York. Notable victories were in
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...
, where Rick Krajewski beat the incumbent of 35 years and in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
where an entire slate of five candidates was (re-)elected to the
state house and the
state senate
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
. All DSA incumbents were re-elected, with the sole exception being
Jade Bahr
Jade Bahr (born December 28, 1988) is a Democratic Party politician and was a member Montana House of Representatives from District 50 who has served between 2019 and 2021.
Early life and education
Bahr was born in Crow Agency, Montana, and w ...
who lost her race for the
Montana House of Representatives.
Dozens of DSA members and affiliated candidates won their races for local offices. Most notably
Nithya Raman
Nithya V. Raman is an American urban planner, activist, and politician serving as the Los Angeles City Councilmember for the 4th District since 2020. Raman, a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, defeated incum ...
, endorsed by the national DSA, won her race for
Los Angeles city council
The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the City of Los Angeles in California.
The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tem ...
in district 4
and
Janeese Lewis George
Janeese Lewis George (born April 30, 1988) is an American lawyer, politician, and activist in Washington, D.C. She is the Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 4. George is a member of the Democratic Party.
Elected in ...
won her race for
Washington, D.C.
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
ward 4, after winning her primary against incumbent
Brandon Todd
Brandon Michael Todd (born August 13, 1985) is an athlete known for his high vertical jump and ability to slam dunk a basketball despite being 5'5" tall. Brandon was a four-year starter on the Cambridge High School (CHS) basketball team and a bre ...
.
Dean Preston was re-elected to the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
José Garza was elected as
district attorney for
Travis County
Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is n ...
in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
and Gabriella Cázares-Kelly was elected
county recorder
Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...
in
Pima County, Arizona Other DSA affiliated candidates were elected to city councils in
Austin,
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
,
Oakland,
Burbank,
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
,
Mountain View,
South San Francisco
South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 census. ...
,
Redwood City
Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a po ...
,
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
,
Burlington,
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
,
Stoughton,
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
(
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
).
2021 Nevada Democratic Party elections
In March 2021, an all-DSA leadership of a state Democratic party was elected for the first time in its history, sweeping the leadership of the
Nevada Democratic Party
The Nevada State Democratic Party (NSDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Nevada. It has been chaired by Judith Whitmer since March 2021. It is currently the state's favored party, controlling all but one of Nevada's fo ...
.
2021 Buffalo, New York mayoral election
In June 2021, the
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
chapter-endorsed candidate,
India Walton
India B. Walton is an American political activist and nurse. She defeated incumbent Mayor Byron Brown in the Democratic Party primary for the 2021 election for mayor of Buffalo, New York before losing to Brown in the general election where he ...
, won the Democratic Party
primary election for mayor, defeating incumbent
Byron Brown
Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who is the current mayor of Buffalo, New York. He has served as Buffalo's 62nd mayor since January 2006, the City's first African-American mayor and longest serving ...
. Following the primary election loss, Brown qualified for the
general election as a
write-in candidate
A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...
. In November 2021 Walton lost the mayoral race to Byron Brown, who earned 38,338 write-in votes compared to Walton's 25,773 votes.
Membership
![BoiseDSAMembersAtABigTentIdahoanDemocratEvent](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/BoiseDSAMembersAtABigTentIdahoanDemocratEvent.jpg)
In the early 1980s, the estimated membership of the DSOC was 5,000, but after its merger with the NAM
the membership of the organization grew to an estimated 7,000 in 1987.
In 2002,
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
said there were 8,000 members in the DSA.
Following the election of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
as president, the DSA experienced a rapid expansion of its paid membership. In 2017, the organization passed a resolution calling for the national office to provide the group's paid members with a copy of a financial report in non-convention years. A first such report covering the whole of 2017 and the first half of 2018 was published in August 2018.
Once the coronavirus pandemic arrived in America, the DSA saw another expansion in membership. In May 2020, organizers claimed that the DSA attracted about 10,000 new members since March. And according to DSA leaders, with Senator Bernie Sanders dropping out of the presidential race in April, leftists who were previously aligned with the Sanders campaign moved over to the DSA.
As of November 2020, the organization claimed over 85,000 members,
and according to its financial report before its 2021 convention, the DSA now claims 94,915 members, with at least a dozen DSA members in every congressional district.
Structure
National Political Committee
Governance of the DSA is by the group's National Political Committee (NPC), which since 2001 has been a 16-person body.
The DSA's constitution states that at least eight of the NPC's members shall be women and at least four members of "racial or national" minority groups.
A 17th vote is cast by the representative of the DSA's youth affiliate who elects one male and one female delegate who split the vote. The NPC meets four times a year.
The NPC elects an inner committee of six, including five of its own members and one representative of the youth section, called the Steering Committee. At least two of these are constitutionally required to be women and at least one
person of color, with the National Director and the Youth Section Organizer also participating as ''ex officio'' members. This Steering Committee meets bi-monthly, either in person or by conference call.
The DSA is organized at the local level with guidance from the NPC and works with
labor unions
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...
, community organizations and campus activists on issues of common interest. Nationwide campaigns are coordinated by the organization's national office in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. , the DSA lists 238 chapters and organizing committees in all 50 states.
Student section
![YDSA logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/YDSA_logo.png)
The
Young Democratic Socialists of America
The Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) is the youth section of the Democratic Socialists of America. The organization was known as Young Democratic Socialists (YDS) until 2017.
History
Formerly known as the Democratic Socialists o ...
(YDSA) is the official student section of the DSA. The YDSA chapters and members are encouraged to pursue and promote a democratic socialist political education and participate in social justice activism, often taking part in anti-war, labor and student-issue marches and rallies. The YDSA publishes a newsletter called ''The Red Letter''
and a blog titled The Activist. The organization's national activities revolve around supporting the DSA campaigns and initiatives and organizing various student conferences, usually held in New York City. The YDSA is a full member of the
International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY).
The YDSA expanded following youth support for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential candidacy. According to a YDSA organizer, the group expanded from 25 to 84 registered chapters between 2016 and 2019.
National conventions
Biennial national conventions represent the highest authority of the DSA and help guide it and its policies. Conventions are held every odd-numbered year.
Publications
The DSA publishes
Democratic Left', a quarterly magazine of news and analysis. This publication continues in an uninterrupted run from the original ''Newsletter of the Democratic Left'' published by the DSOC (the DSA forerunner) since its establishment in 1973. In 2008, DSA members active in the American labor movement founded Talking Union, a blog that focuses on labor politics, working-class struggles and strategies.
Left-wing quarterly magazine ''
Jacobin
, logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg
, logo_size = 180px
, logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794)
, motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir)
, successor = P ...
'' is considered to be very close to the organization, although there is no official affiliation between the magazine and DSA.
In 2014 its founder and then-editor
Bhaskar Sunkara, who is a DSA member, said that
Michael Harrington
Edward Michael Harrington Jr. (February 24, 1928 – July 31, 1989) was an American democratic socialist. As a writer, he was perhaps best known as the author of '' The Other America''. Harrington was also a political activist, theorist, profess ...
was “very underrated as a popularizer of Marxist thought".
Policy and ideology
Tendencies within the DSA
DSA members have views ranging across the spectrum of
progressivism
Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...
,
social democracy
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...
,
democratic socialism,
eco-socialism
Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism or socialist ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansi ...
,
libertarian socialism
Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing,Diemer, Ulli (1997)"What Is Libertarian Socialism?" The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 4 August 2019. anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarianLong, Roderick T. (2 ...
,
and
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
.
Socialism
The DSA regards the abolition of capitalism and the realization of socialism as a gradual long-term goal, therefore the organization focuses its immediate political energies on reforms within capitalism that empower working people while decreasing the power of corporations.
The DSA characterizes its vision of socialism as an economic system based on maximum decentralization that can be supportive of a range of models for
social ownership
Social ownership is the appropriation of the surplus product, produced by the means of production, or the wealth that comes from it, to society as a whole. It is the defining characteristic of a socialist economic system. It can take the form of ...
, including
publicly owned enterprises and
worker-owned cooperatives. The DSA rejects centralized economic planning in favor of a combination of democratic planning and market mechanisms:
because the DSA does not believe capitalism and private corporations can be immediately replaced with socialism, it is favorable to using government regulations and organized labor to make private businesses more accountable to the public interest.
Social democracy and the welfare state
One older leaflet detailing the group's official ideas, "What is Democratic Socialism? Questions and Answers from the Democratic Socialists of America", states that "no country has fully instituted democratic socialism". Nonetheless, according to the DSA there are lessons to be learned from "the
comprehensive welfare state maintained by the Swedes, from Canada's
national healthcare system, France's
nationwide childcare program, and Nicaragua's
literacy programs".
The "tremendous prosperity and relative economic equality" established by the
social democratic parties of the countries of
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
and parts of
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
are lauded.
Foreign affairs
![Abolish ICE Banner-SF 19Jun2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Abolish_ICE_Banner-SF_19Jun2018.jpg)
In 2016, the DSA issued a statement of solidarity with
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. The statement called the
sanctions placed on Venezuela by the
Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
unjust and illegal. It called for the United States to cease its interference in Venezuelan affairs, saying: "We call on the President and Congress to reverse these actions and stop seeking to undermine the Venezuelan people and their legitimate, democratically elected government".
At the 2017 DSA Convention, the group announced its withdrawal from the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations ...
(SI). The resolution passed states that the DSA will "
uilddirect relationships with socialist and left parties and social movements around the world that we can learn from and which share our values.... Our affiliation with the Socialist International hinders our ability to develop stronger relationships with parties and social movements that share our values and which, in many cases, are bitterly opposed to their country's SI affiliate(s)".
This was viewed as the DSA voicing its opposition to the SI's perceived acceptance of "
neoliberal economic policies".
At the 2017 convention it also passed a resolution which solidified the DSA's solidarity with the cause of the
Palestinian people
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
and with the controversial
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...
movement: "Democratic Socialists of America condemns all efforts to deny the right of Palestinians in the United States and their allies to free speech, assembly, and academic freedom".
The resolution further condemned
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i actions, comparing those actions to
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
.
The DSA has shown its solidarity with
Ahed Tamimi
Ahed Tamimi ( ar, عهد التميمي, ‘Ahad at-Tamīmī, also romanized ''Ahd''; born 31 January 2001) is a Palestinian activist from the village of Nabi Salih in the occupied West Bank in Palestine. She is best known for appearances in i ...
.
The statement also reiterated the DSA's support for the liberation of the
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
people.
The DSA opposes
United States intervention in the
Syrian Civil War. A statement issued in April 2017 called the intervention by the
Trump administration
Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...
a violation of both domestic and international law. In the same statement, the DSA called for protests of Trump's actions and for the lobbying of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
to halt any further intervention.
At the 2019 DSA Convention, the group announced its support for
open borders
An open border is a border that enables free movement of people (and often of goods) between jurisdictions with no restrictions on movement and is lacking substantive border control. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation ...
.
At the 2021 DSA Convention, the organization's members voted to apply for membership in the
São Paulo Forum
São Paulo Forum (FSP), also known as the Foro de São Paulo, is a conference of left-wing political parties and other organizations from the Americas, primarily Latin America and the Caribbean. It was launched by the Workers' Party ( pt-BR, P ...
, a conference of leftist political parties and organizations largely from
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
and the
Caribbean.
A DSA delegation travelled to
Caracas,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, in June 2021 to meet with
Nicolás Maduro and to attend the Bicentennial Congress of the Peoples (), considered not an autonomous body, but rather "an assemblage of national and foreign supporters" of Maduro himself launched in an attempt "to coat itself with a veneer of international support". The DSA was criticized for giving legitimacy to the Maduro administration, as well as for the members of the delegation staying in one of the most expensive hotels in the city, the , where a night costs $200 USD, and for partying despite the
COVID-19 restrictions in Venezuela. They were also criticized for giving "a bad name to the international left in Venezuela".
On February 26, 2022, the DSA issued a statement condemning
Russia's invasion of Ukraine while arguing that the United States provoked Russia.
The statement called for the United States to withdraw from
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and "end the imperialist expansionism that set the stage for this conflict".
This statement was criticized by Democratic congresspersons, as well as politicians who were affiliated with DSA.
Critics described the DSA statement as "tone deaf".
Others defended the statement and criticized the responses from mainstream media and politicians attacking the organization.
Anti-racism and anti-fascism
![Austin, TX Demonstrations on 31 May - 49985139338](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Austin%2C_TX_Demonstrations_on_31_May_-_49985139338.png)
Positioning itself as an
anti-racist
Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
and
anti-fascist organization,
the DSA connects this fight against fascist groups to its broader struggle against capitalism, saying on its website: "We believe that the terror unleashed on our comrades can be defeated. We also believe that the wider system of racist oppression can be defeated, but only with the ending of the capitalist system which birthed it".
Members have been present at various anti-fascist marches and protests, including counterprotests against the
Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
in
Charlottesville
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, the
Boston Free Speech Rally and many other right-wing rallies surrounding the
removal of Confederate monuments and memorials
More than 100 monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America (CSA; the Confederacy) and associated figures have been removed, all but five since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn do ...
. The DSA positions itself with other left-wing groups who fight fascism in the United States, including the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...
and groups involved in the
antifa movement.
The organization also criticizes the
police in the United States
Law enforcement in the United States is one of three major components of the criminal justice system of the United States, along with courts and corrections. Although each component operates semi-independently, the three collectively form a cha ...
for their handling of anti-fascist activities and activities of such groups as
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...
.
The DSA believes in defending communities from
neofascist
Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration se ...
violence and building a multi-racial working-class movement.
This involves
deplatforming reactionary and racist groups and events, believing that a
united front
A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...
of left-wing organizations needs to confront these forces wherever they appear.
Labor movement and workers' rights
The DSA has long been a supporter and defender of the
labor movement in the United States and has also argued for the increase of international worker solidarity. The DSA believes in a livable
minimum wage for all workers, but it notes that this fight only goes so far and is only the first step in building a more humane economic system: "Ultimately the minimum wage only works for those lucky enough to find a job – even a low paying one – and it doesn't really "work" for them, because it doesn't come with health benefits, adequate schools, or enough money to set aside for retirement".
The DSA members have been supporters and active participants in fights to increase the minimum wage across the country, including the
Fight for $15
The Fight for $15 is an American political movement advocating for the minimum wage to be raised to USD$15
per hour. The federal minimum wage was last set at $7.25 per hour in 2009. The movement has involved strikes by child care, home health ...
protests.
The DSA opposes
right to work laws
In the context of labor law in the United States, the term "right-to-work laws" refers to state laws that prohibit union security agreements between employers and labor unions which require employees who are not union members to contribute t ...
, which are seen as an attack on the rights of workers and the historic advances of the labor movement.
It is argued that the enactment of these laws reduces the efficacy of collective bargaining agreements, putting workers at a disadvantage.
In a statement released in 2014, the organization said: "Such "right to work" laws consciously aim to weaken union strength; they are the main reason why the "right to work" is, as Martin Luther King Jr. put it, "the right to work for less".
The DSA argues that financial elites have consciously fought to destroy union power in an effort to solidify the hegemony of markets and corporate power.
The organization believes that for an equitable and sustainable economic system that the production of wealth should be under the democratic control of those
who produce it.
The DSA also emphasizes the role played by immigrants, women, disabled workers, LGBTQIA+ and workers of color in the broader
labor movement, believing that all barriers between working people must be broken in order to help create and maintain a broad and unified labor movement.
LGBT+ rights
The DSA is committed to the rights of the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
community, connecting anti-gay prejudice to capitalist exploitation. This includes pushes for equal rights and protections for all those who identify as LGBTQIA+ as well as rights to housing, jobs, education, public accommodations and healthcare. The DSA recognizes that those who are most discriminated against based on identity are disproportionately women and people of color. The organization also seeks to ensure public schools are safe places for LGBTQIA+ students and that students should have total access to facilities that reflect their gender. The DSA supports the protection of
same-sex marriages
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
, but it "views marriage as only a first step in recognizing the diversity of human relationships".
Feminism
The DSA aligns itself with the
socialist feminist
Socialist feminism rose in the 1960s and 1970s as an offshoot of the feminist movement and New Left that focuses upon the interconnectivity of the patriarchy and capitalism. However, the ways in which women's private, domestic, and public roles ...
movement. The organization holds that capitalism is built on
white supremacy
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
as well as
male supremacy
Supremacism is the belief that a certain group of people is superior to all others. The supposed superior people can be defined by age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, language, social class, ideology, nation, culture ...
. The DSA maintains that reproductive rights are central to the
feminist movement
The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such ...
. Connecting democratic socialism and socialist feminism, the DSA says "that birth control and safe abortion should be provided as part of a comprehensive single-payer healthcare program". Believing that electoral politics can only take socialist feminism so far, the organization also says that the emphasis must be on community-based grassroots movements. The DSA further says that socialist feminism must include the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The DSA is opposed to
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
and to the current form of the
State of Israel. DSA views the current form of the State of Israel as
imperialist
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
and as a form of
ethnostate.
The DSA formerly supported Israel throughout much of its history, including socialist and progressive individuals and movements inside the state. In 2018, Jo-Ann Mort, former vice-chair of DSA, described the group as formerly having been "the place to go on the left if you were a socialist and you were pro-Israel".
On August 5, 2017, members of the organization passed a motion to formally endorse the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...
movement.
''
Alternet
AlterNet is a left-leaning online news outlet. It was launched in 1997 by the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of '' Raw Story''.
Coverage
Coverage is divided into several special sections related to progr ...
'' noted that this has been a dividing issue, with older members "tried to reconcile socialism with Zionism" while younger members recognize the movement as a "time-tested means of nonviolent protest" and "the most powerful force to combat Israeli apartheid in the 21st century".
See also
*
List of Democratic Socialists of America members who have held office in the United States
*
American Left
The American Left consists of individuals and groups that have sought egalitarian changes in the economic, political and cultural institutions of the United States. Various subgroups with a national scope are active. Liberals and progressives ...
*
Millennial socialism
Millennial socialism is a resurgence of interest in democratic socialism and social democracy among Americans and Britons born in the 1980s and later, generationally known as millennials and Generation Z. Background
American millennials ...
*
Movement for a People's Party
The Movement for a People's Party (MPP), also known simply as the People's Party, is a progressive political organization in the United States aimed at "forming a major new political party free of corporate money and influence".
Nick Brana f ...
*
Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Kate Aronoff (August 7, 2017)
"Are the Democratic Socialists of America for Real?" ''The New Republic''. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
* Joel Freedman (November–December 1981). "No Enemies on the Left as DSOC and NAM Merge". ''New America''. New York. vol. 18. no. 6. p. 5.
*Lauren Gambino (August 6, 2019
'We're here to win': US democratic socialists move to center stage ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
.'' Retrieved August 7, 2019
* Joel Meyerson
"What the Socialists Just Did — And Why,"''The American Prospect,'' August 9, 2019.
* Jennifer Swann (February 8, 2017)
"How Democratic Socialists Are Building on Bernie's Momentum" ''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
*
Marc Tracy
Marc Aaron Tracy is an American journalist. He is a reporter on the Culture desk at ''The New York Times.'' Tracy was a staff writer at the ''The New Republic'' and at ''Tablet'', where he won a National Magazine Award for Blogging. He also won a ...
"Is 'Bernie or Bust' the Future of the Left?"''New York Times,'' August 6, 2019. Print version: "Party on the Left Gets Bigger, Stronger and Declares 'Bernie or Bust.'" August 6, 2019, section A, pg. 11.
"DSA Members Comment on Their 2017 Convention" Portside.org. August 24, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
External links
*
Constitution of the DSA Dsausa.org. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
Young Democratic Socialists official website(youth affiliate of DSA).
January 2018 National Public Radio segment on the burgeoning interest in the DSA
July 2018 National Public Radio segment on the political impact of the DSA
in the ''
New York Daily News'' following Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's primary win.
What We're Building A methodological survey of DSA chapters.
''
New York'' article by Simon van Zuylen-Wood about socialism's sudden popularity, with a focus on DSA. (March 3, 2019)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Democratic Socialists Of America
1982 establishments in the United States
Organizations established in 1982
Socialist Party of America
Social Democrats, USA
Anti-fascist organizations in the United States
Anti-racist organizations in the United States
Democratic socialist organizations in the United States
Feminist organizations in the United States
Multi-tendency organizations in the United States
Progressive organizations in the United States
Social democratic organizations in the United States
Anti-Zionism in the United States
Socialism in the United States
Healthcare reform advocacy groups in the United States
501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations