CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Photograph Source: Morgan.rice.bassline.design – CC BY 4.0

The U.S. is witnessing a revival of “socialism.”  A century ago, during the 1910s-1920s, more than 1,000 socialists were elected to public office, including two members of Congress, dozens of state legislators and more than 130 mayors.

Today, there are three “democratic socialists” in Congress – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and two in the House, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).  Zohran Mamdani brought a spotlight to this development when he was elected mayor in New York City in 2025; other socialist mayors include Katie Wilson (Seattle) and Emma Mulvaney-Stanak (Montpelier, VT).

Rolling Stone and Wikipedia claim there are 250 elected officials affiliated with the Democratic Socialist of America (DSA). Still other groups – e.g., Working Families Party (WFP) and Green Party – are socialist all but in name.

According to the Washington Examiner, candidates endorsed by the DSA scored victories in 35 primary elections so far in 2026 including – in its words – “upsets against entrenched incumbents.”  Going further, it notes: “The DSA has backed 150 candidates this cycle: 35 advanced from their primaries or were unopposed, while 34 have lost. Some of the wins include incumbents in federal or local government.”

Among these candidates are:

Christopher Rabb — re-elected to Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 200 in November 2024.

Claire Valdez — won in New York’s 7th Congressional District.

Darializa Avila Chevalier — unseated Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th District.

Brad Lander — beat incumbent Dan Goldman in the 10th District.

 Abdul El-Sayed – won the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan.

Melat Kiros – defeated U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District.

Adam Bojak — won a three-way Democratic primary for the New York State Assembly in the Buffalo area.

Maurice “Mo” Brown — narrowly defeated Assemblyman William B. Magnarelli New York’s 129th state Assembly District.

 Donavan McKinney – Michigan state representative (11th House District) is running for Congress.

 Janeese Lewis George — is expected to win the mayoral race in Washington, DC.

Nithya Raman, a LA City Councilwomen – will challenge incumbent mayor Karen Bass for mayor.

The most noted defeat of a socialist was that of Francesca Hong who lost to David Crowley in the primary race for Wisconsin governor.

The rise of Socialism 2.0 in the U.S. speaks as much to the appeal of a more “socially” conscious democracy as it does to the faltering, old-money Democratic Party and Pres. Trump’s failures during his second term in........

© CounterPunch