Socialist candidates are having success in many Democratic primaries across the country. The latest shock for Democrats was in Florida with Resistance hero Alexander Vindman losing to socialist Angie Nixon, despite his 37:1 campaign ad spending advantage. Democrats may be breathing a sigh of relief by averting a Wisconsin catastrophe with Francesca Hong, but the fact that socialists are winning in or making primaries competitive shows they have gained ground. People are asking us where is this movement coming from and is this a new development? From our perspective, the contributors to the socialist momentum have been in the works for years.
Over the past two decades, the Democratic Party has been moving to the left. The 2006 exit polls showed 38% of the Democratic Party being liberal, which increased to 51% by 2018. In 2024, that was still the case. As the party moved leftward, this introduced an openness to socialist candidates in deep blue areas.
Three reasons we are seeing socialist candidates gaining ground:
1.) They are trying to fill a leadership and policy vacuum in the Democratic Party
From a recent interview with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani: For too long, it has felt like our party, the Democratic Party, the only answer we have is to say that we are not the Republican Party. The only answer we have is a response to the cruelty of the federal administration. But we also have to have a vision of what comes after this administration.
The rise of socialist candidates in the Democratic Party is provoking increased internal division over policy positions, with Medicare for All being an example.
2.) The Trump factor
After the loss in 2024, many grassroots Democrats have felt that establishment incumbents were not standing up to President Trump. This has created a movement within the party for replacing incumbents with new candidates who say they are going to be fighters.
3.) Affordability
With ongoing challenges with cost of living and inflation, socialists are trying to capitalize on affordability concerns. Figures like Mamdani are portraying government as the solution: Politics determines what people can afford, and we need to see a recognition of that and an actual platform of how we will deliver that affordability. Cities have often been discussed as the laboratories of democracy — we can actually show that this isn’t a fantasy.
For more on socialist candidates, see our recent Discussion Points podcast Socialists On The March — 3 Reasons They Are Gaining Momentum.
