This post was updated Oct. 20 at 4:20 p.m.
The Democratic Party is at a crossroads: Should it stay on course with its establishment leadership or push for more socialist ideas? The recent success of democratic socialists – including Nithya Raman’s advancement in the Los Angeles mayoral race – has provoked this question.
On one hand, the success of democratic socialists against more centrist Democrats is undeniable. On the other, they’ve yet to demonstrate widespread success in competitive general elections. Regardless, it is clear that an existential fight is brewing – one that will decide the fate of the Democratic Party.
In Support of Democratic Socialism: Alessandra Kahn, Opinion staff
Kamala Harris’ short-lived 2024 presidential campaign was not a valiant defense of democracy. It was a failed attempt at damage control.
Harris turned her back on the causes that most needed her support while trying to stop a felon from setting up camp in the Oval Office. Her campaign brushed transgender Americans to the sidelines, stood beside Israel amid its catastrophic Gaza offensive and promised to increase restrictions on asylum claims.
Despite this series of concessions, Harris lost the election decisively. It turns out that America prefers convicts to leaders without convictions.
Democratic voters who value progressive policy – not just keeping Republicans out of office – must abandon the Democratic establishment and coalesce behind leaders who stick to their guns: the Democratic Socialists of America.
Democratic socialist and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani supported immigrant and transgender New Yorkers, as well as Palestinian self-determination, during his 2025 campaign. Unwavering in his commitment to protecting vulnerable constituents, he beat his opponents in four of five boroughs during the general election.
Mamdani’s win wasn’t a fluke. It was a sign of what’s to come.
The mayor has remained exceptionally popular among New Yorkers since he entered office at the beginning of this year. What’s more, DSA-endorsed candidates have won primaries in New York, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Michigan, and DSA-backed contenders also performed well in state and local elections.
Still, prominent Democrats argue that democratic socialists lack strategy – and the ability to beat Republicans in close races.
Such fears precisely reflect the problem: The Democratic establishment caters so intensely to the views of moderates that it takes its voter base for granted.
Sacrificing some progressive goals in hopes of protecting others doesn’t make Democrats more likable. It brews resentment.
If the left wants to win this game of tug-of-war, it can’t let go of the rope.
Against Democratic Socialism: Brett Larsen, Opinion columnist
Democratic socialism is a disease that threatens the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Socialists of America have spent the past decade bashing establishment party figures and policies rather than uniting with mainstream Democrats to defeat the Republican Party. Why should Democrats celebrate the victories of politicians who are hostile to the party?
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, darling of the democratic socialist movement, did not endorse Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Yet Harris endorsed him in his mayoral race, raising questions about whether DSA truly cares about the party’s success.
Hasan Piker, an online personality and prominent democratic socialist pundit, said exhibiting positive feelings toward Israel, past or present, should disqualify someone from holding political office. This alienated Democrats like Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries and Gavin Newsom, all of whom are crucial figures in the party.
In addition to commentary directed against mainstream leaders, the DSA policy platform says its enemy is capitalism. But the majority of the Democratic Party does not consider itself democratic socialist, putting the DSA at odds with mainstream policy positions.
The views held by democratic socialists go beyond standard policy disagreements, which are expected and acceptable in a diverse political party. Instead, they threaten the Democratic Party by discrediting its leaders and its identity as a liberal and capitalist party.
Unfortunately, popular momentum resides with democratic socialists. But the Democratic establishment is the only way forward when the alternative is opposed to fundamental party beliefs.
Principles, not fleeting popularity, should decide the future of the Democratic Party.
Socialism and capitalism are not compatible. Neither are Democrats and democratic socialists. Democratic socialists seek to replace, not unite, the party.
If the Democratic Party wants to capitalize on the downward spiral of the Republican Party, it must disown the toxic, fringe democratic socialist movement consuming the party from within.
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