Democratic socialists are on the rise in Trump-era mayoral races
Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George looked at a teeming crowd on Tuesday evening and issued a proclamation about her candidacy as a democratic socialist: “If there were any doubt, let it now be laid to rest,” she said. “It is the people of D.C. who elect the mayor of D.C.”
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Flanked by supporters after early results showed her witha significant lead, she continued: “Tonight, D.C. made its demands.”
Her remarks came days after President Donald Trump had warned that he could attempt a federal takeover of Washington if the democratic socialist city councilmember rose to power.
“We won’t put up with it,” Trump warned in comments to reporters.
But he already is. In some of the United States’ most powerful and populous cities, includingthe nation’s financial hub and now potentially the political center of the country, politics are shifting farther left — and some say it is in direct response to Trump and his policies.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani spectacularly rose to prominence to lead New York City in last year’s elections there, offering free bus rides and rent stabilization.
In Los Angeles, democratic socialist Nithya Raman advanced to the mayoral runoff where she’ll face off against incumbent Karen Bass, a fellow Democrat.
In Seattle, democratic socialist Katie Wilson assumed office earlier this year after rising as a leader and advocate in the Transit Riders Union.
In Chicago, far left-leaning Brandon Johnson — who unlike the others is not a self-described democratic socialist,but isan acolyte of Bernie Sanders and wasbacked by the organization Sanders founded, Our Revolution — is closing out his first term in office and likely to seek another.
Now, Lewis George couldclaim power over the nation’s capital at a time when Trump is pushing the limits of power in the executive branch and residents are increasingly feeling the squeeze of higher rent, higher transportation costs, higher unemployment and low wages. At the same time, the nation’s richest individuals are attaining wealth by leaps and bounds.
“More people are having to work multiple jobs or just more hours to make ends meet, just to deal with those costs. Meanwhile, people see what the federal government is doing: investing more in militarism, giving trillions of dollars in tax cuts to the already wealthiest,” said Ashik Siddique, the national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America. “So when we have people who are running on credible platforms of expanding public services to be universal and high-quality for everybody and taxing the rich to do it, that message really resonates. People are really hungry for an alternative to the status quo.”
Progressives say the phenomenon is an evolution of a movement that began with Sanders presidential run 10 years ago, which inspired a new generation of leaders. Democratic socialism grew under the Vermont senator’s rise,with major groups like DSA and Our Revolution recruiting and supporting candidates for local offices. In most cases, DSA mayors and mayoral candidates held previous positions on city councils, local unions or county commissions.
Lewis George ran on what she called a “people first” platform focused heavily on the cost of living. She said she would seek universal childcare, caps on rent and stabilization of utility prices. As of Wednesday with ballot counting still underway, Lewis George held approximately 53% of the vote with her nearest rival, former Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, at 37%. Ranked choice voting will come into play to determine the primary winner if she falls below the majority mark.
Ironically, the rise of the far left mirrors the economic populism that Trump originally tapped during his 2016 run. His MAGA movement grew out of promises to tear apart the status quo and “drain the swamp” in Washington. It helped him win over some blue-collar white voters who had previously voted for former President Barack Obama.
But economic strain has dominated Trump’s second term in office, and there is evidence he’s losing ground with those same voters.
Today, poll after poll shows Americans are distraught over the economy, amid rising gas prices and grocery costs as well as growing inflation.
A recent NBC News poll, sponsored by the nonpartisan nonprofit More Perfect and taken in advance of the nation’s 250th anniversary, found that among adults, 78% of Americans believed that the “American Dream” was more difficult to attain now than it was a generation ago. The survey found that the sentiment was consistent across demographic groups.
“It’s a reaction to Trump. Trump has attacked major cities, which have a higher concentration of Democratic voters. He’s infiltrated them with ICE and National Guard troops. He’s cut off funding,” said Our Revolution executive director Joseph Geevarghese. “It’s a part of a larger trend … the cost of living is just unaffordable, and so you’re seeing a referendum not just on Trump but also on this Democratic establishment in their governance of these cities.”
Whether Trump will follow through with his threats to attempt a federal takeover in Washington, should Lewis George win, remains to be seen. Trump made similar remarksamid Mamdani’s rise last year only to later sing his praises from the Oval Office.
And groups on the left say if Trump were to attempt a militarization of Washington, D.C., he can expect it to be met with the kind of wide-scale protests and resistance that eventually drove a large immigration enforcement operation out of Minneapolis earlier this year.
“There was massive organizing at every level of society … that helped push them out and let them see that there’s just massive resistance from the from the public,” Siddique said. In Washington, he continued, there’s a storied history of pushing back against power grabs. He forecasted the same would happen if Trump attempted to take that route.
“There are a lot of people in D.C. who will stand with somebody who’s a mayor who really represents all those organized people,” he said.
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