Six DSA-Backed Candidates Win House Seats in US Midterm Elections

DSA gains in Congress

Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates won House seats in the U.S. midterm elections, with NPR and the Wall Street Journal and Reuters reporting that six DSA-backed candidates won seats in the U.S. House in these midterms.

DSA-backed House wins2 of 6 outlets reported it · not in CNN and 3 more▾

The winners named in the reporting were Dari Aliza Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez, Melat Kiros, Donavan McKinney, Chris Rabb and Angela Gonzalez-Torres, and the reporting also said two House members are DSA members: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.

The reporting described the DSA as a U.S. political organization that espouses democratic socialism and said it is not a party registered separately from the Democratic Party.

The reporting said the House speaker election in January is expected to be the first test of the relationship between Democratic leadership and the democratic socialist wing, and it noted that none of the Democratic candidates who won with DSA backing has yet pledged to support House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries as the next speaker.

The reporting also said the president, Trump, can veto bills that pass both chambers, and it said the democratic socialist wing is expected to raise its voice using the legislature's oversight powers such as hearings and investigations.

Reporting for this sectionChosunbiz

Kiros prioritizes Medicare for All

Melat Kiros, the Congressmember-elect interviewed by Democracy Now! on election night following her victory in Denver, Colorado, said her top priority is Medicare for All. Kiros told Democracy Now! that progressives must lay the groundwork “so that in ’29, when we have the House, the Senate and the White House, we can sign it into law on day one.” Kiros also said, “It is absolutely unacceptable that we are still the only country in the developed world that does not have universal healthcare,” and she linked the policy to ending “over 100,000 Americans dying every single year because they don’t have access to healthcare.”

Kiros said the number one issue she heard from voters was corruption and that “They no longer trust any party to meaningfully actually fight for working families.” Kiros described her campaign as focused on “Medicare for All, on housing first, on universal childcare and elder care,” and she said she was “holding our government elected officials accountable.”

Reporting for this sectionDemocracy Now!

Foreign policy and party leverage

Dan Hoffman, a former CIA station chief, analyzed how midterm results could impact foreign policy and said Democratic Socialists of America gains could complicate U.S.-Israel relations. Hoffman discussed reports about Melania Trump hosting international delegations and President Donald Trump's next moves on Iran, while he connected those issues to the implications of DSA gains. The Guardian reported that progressive groups took a different tone than senior Democratic leaders and quoted Usamah Andrabi saying, “This was not a endorsement of a mealy-mouthed corporate agenda from Democrats that practices incrementalism.”

The Guardian also quoted Ashik Siddique, the DSA national co-chair, saying, “We really want to emphasize that democratic socialists are leading the conversation and helping to shift public opinion in really dramatic ways on key issues,” including abolishing ICE and arms embargoes against Israel. The Guardian described senior Democratic leaders stressing unity while it reported that progressives called for radical action, and it said House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries is likely to become the first Black speaker of the House if his colleagues elect him when the new Congress begins.

Reporting for this sectionFox NewsThe Guardian