The Democratic establishment is reeling after a string of surprise primary victories across the country by members and fellow travelers of the Democratic Socialists of America. The truth is, Democratic leaders only have themselves to blame. What we are seeing is Dr. Frankenstein finally coming face to face with the monster he created.
Since the day Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016, the Democratic Party has reorganized its entire identity around him, claiming that he’s a criminal mastermind pulling off an authoritarian takeover, despite their own embrace of the weaponization of government during the Biden years. Any sign the Democrats were negotiating with President Trump was forbidden under their broader anti-Trump ideology. They abandoned all reason and their own voters in the process. Meanwhile, President Trump engineered the takeover of the Republican Party during this time with traditionally Democratic voters, including blue-collar workers and minorities.
But here’s the problem with crying fascist non-stop for a decade: Your own voters start asking why you’re not acting like it’s real. Far-left podcaster Jennifer Welch labeled Schumer and Jeffries “fascist collaborators” for not fighting hard enough. Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Institute, criticized the left’s idol, Barack Obama, for sacrificing his “megaphone” during the second Trump term.
You cannot spend 10 years telling your base that democracy is one election from extinction and act surprised when they demand radical change. That radical change is the Democratic Socialists of America.
Zohran Mamdani, a proud DSA member, is now mayor of New York City. DSA-backed candidates also won a trio of New York primaries earlier this summer. In Colorado, 29-year-old Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros knocked off Diana DeGette, a 15-term incumbent already known for being far-left who had held her seat since before Kiros was born. Most recently, in Florida, DSA member and state Rep. Angie Nixon pulled off a surprise blowout win over Alexander Vindman in the U.S. Senate primary.
The party that spent a decade calling Trump an existential threat can no longer guarantee its incumbents, hand-picked candidates, or very own leadership can survive a primary.
Why is anyone surprised? CNN polling from last year put the Democratic Party’s favorability at just 28%, its lowest mark in three decades. When your own voters can’t stand your leadership, and the only answer is more press releases and cable news appearances, don’t be shocked when the people willing to say “socialist” out loud start winning.
While socialism as a trend is a real threat to America, the greater threat is to the Democratic Party itself, potentially rendering it a minority party for years to come.
As recently published Brookings Institution research notes, “DSA candidates are largely winning in places that are already liberal and Democratic.” Meanwhile, the Democratic Party’s embrace of radical candidates is creating headwinds for its nominees in competitive House and Senate races, who must distance themselves from policy positions anathema to independent voters without alienating their own base.
Across the country, the far left is getting louder and bolder, but its victories are limited to the areas Democrats already control. So, should you worry? If you live in a deep-blue city where a DSA mayor can actually govern, yes, because there’s no general election left to save you. Everywhere else, the socialists should be a layup for Republicans this November, so long as we force Democratic candidates to wear Mamdani and his ilk like an albatross around their necks.
The simple fact is that while the socialist playbook may not work on the national stage, Republicans must use their emergence on the national stage for maximum leverage in the midterm elections. Rep. Elise Stefanik noted that “every Democrat in America is going to have to answer” for Mamdani’s positions. Speaker Mike Johnson has already branded DSA candidates as “mini-Mamdanis.” RNC chairman Joe Gruters said what every political strategist is thinking: Democrats have “tied themselves to extremism.”
Democrats have spent the last decade saying Donald Trump was going to destroy the Republic. What they actually destroyed was their own party’s mission and brand and its ability to hold back the most radical among them. That’s on Democratic leaders, and this November they’re going to have to own it.
