The Democratic Socialists of America is reportedly looking for the 2028 face of their party after emerging as a major political player Tuesday evening with two of their candidates winning competitive primaries in New York City.
The political party has resonated with young voters in urban areas, with policies that advocate for higher taxes on the wealthy and big corporations while allocating more power toward workers and ordinary citizens.
Already, the party had made strides with the November election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. But the Democratic Socialists seemingly cemented their position in liberal politics with Darializa Avila Chevalier upsetting a Democratic incumbent and Claire Valdez defeating an outgoing Democrat’s chosen candidate Tuesday.
“What DSA represents is a real contrast to Democrats who have run the last couple of elections on fear,” Megan Romer, the Democratic Socialists of America national co-chair, told Politico Wednesday. “You can’t run on that. You have to offer an alternative. And it’s really important that we be involved in that conversation in 2028. It’s important that we have somebody saying sensible things.”
Now, the party’s leadership is looking for other candidates who could potentially run in 2028, according to Politico.
The Democratic Socialists of America are putting out feelers for potential candidates to back in 2028, dispatching surveys to its 250 chapters and asking members for recommendations, the news outlet reported.
That information will come back to the party’s national leaders by mid-September, the group told Politico. DSA expects to recieve 20-to-40 page dossiers from chapters on who should lead the party into 2028, the report added.
For years, the Democratic Socialists party has been bubbling beneath the surface of mainstream politics with the election of progressive candidates such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, former Rep. Cori Bush and more.
But with the election of President Donald Trump and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the party has become more favorable for some Democratic voters, polling shows.
A 2025 Gallup survey found that Americans view capitalism 6 percentage points less favorably than they did four years previously.
“No wonder the Democratic Socialists have such a good chance, because simply put, they’re a better brand at this point than Democrats in Congress,” CNN analyst Harry Enten said earlier this month, pointing to recent polling from MU Law.
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Mamdani, perhaps one of the most prominent members of the Democratic Socialists of America, proved his strength with voters during the primary election, with all three of his endorsed candidates succeeding over traditional Democratic candidates.
Aside from Avila Chevalier and Valdez, Brad Lander triumphed over a well-known Democratic incumbent – though he was not officially endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America; he was endorsed by Mamdani.
The New York City mayor is expected to be included in national discussions about the future of the party before a formal vote takes place at the Democratic Socialists of America convention next year, Politico reports.
Other Democratic Socialist candidates have experienced wins across the country, such as Pennsylvania lawmaker Chris Rabb, who won the Democratic nomination for a congressional seat and Janeese Lewis George, a D.C. council member who won the Democratic nomination for D.C. mayor.
The upward trajectory has angered Republicans, especially those allied with the president.
On Truth Social, Trump wrote “America the Beautiful will NEVER be a Communist Country,” hours after the races had been called in New York. He later claimed Mamdani had pulled “3 solid Communists,” referring to the endorsed candidates.
While the political party has seen upward movement, some hesitate to say it’s winning big – noting that the party must find a way to appeal to moderate Democrats.
“A national map includes deep-red and rural districts where the left still has to figure out how to speak to working-class voters and compete,” Bhaskar Sunkara, former vice-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, told Politico.
