The biggest left-wing political story of the week is democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani becoming mayor of New York City. But Mamdani’s was not the only socialist victory on Tuesday.
Just like with almost every election year that’s come before in the Trump era, this week saw a series of lesser-known wins for socialists downballot around the country as well as defeats. From the Midwest to the East Coast, socialists grew their ranks in elected office on the back of a grassroots-powered, affordability-first strategy that suggests Mamdani’s run isn’t just a potential model for future socialist campaigns — it’s already directly inspired successful disciples.
This past Tuesday saw twenty-two races where candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) National Election Commission (NEC) were on the ballot, eleven of whom have won their races so far. Two of those are on the Minneapolis City Council: socialist Robin Wonsley, who won reelection to her third term on the back of efforts like expanding antidiscrimination protection and banning the use of algorithms to raise rents, and Soren Stevenson, best known before this for winning a $2.4 million settlement from the city after Minneapolis police shot a “less than lethal” round at him during 2020’s George Floyd protests, costing him his eye.
This was his second tilt at the city council seat: in 2023, Stevenson, who backs rent control, fell just thirty-eight votes short of unseating council president Andrea Jenkins, who opposed it despite Minneapolis voters having expressly approved a measure instructing the council to put one in place. Jenkins chose not to seek reelection this year. Besides Wonsley, two other socialists, Aisha Chughtai and Jason Chavez, won reelection to their council seats, while a third victorious incumbent, Aurin Chowdhury, did not seek the local DSA chapter’s endorsement this year.
These wins mean progressives will hold onto a bare majority of the city…
Auteur: Branko Marcetic
