USAupdated 14m ago2 min read
Six DSA-Endorsed Candidates Elected to the House, Expanding Democratic Socialists’ Bloc
“A larger DSA caucus could give progressive Democrats greater leverage to pressure leadership into holding votes on Israel policy,”
“The Democratic Socialists of America had a phenomenal night, and this movement is only going to continue to grow,”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Six DSA-endorsed candidates won House seats, marking a historic night for the movement. DSA wins span Detroit, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, expanding congressional influence.
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DSA wins House seats
Tuesday night delivered a historic result for the Democratic Socialists of America, with six DSA-endorsed candidates elected to the House of Representatives, including Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez in New York, Melat Kiros in Colorado, Angela Gonzales-Torres in California, Donavan McKinney in Michigan, and Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania. The DSA is not a registered political party, and the victories bring a bloc of lawmakers to Capitol Hill that will look to translate electoral success into policy wins that push the Democratic Party further to the left.
“Six new DSA-endorsed candidates were elected to the House,” and democratic socialists won mayoral races in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Providence. “Currently, just two sitting lawmakers, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, are DSA members,” setting the stage for a larger DSA presence once the new Congress is seated in January.
Jeffries speaker sparks
Hakeem Jeffries announced his run for House Speaker, and Democracy Left said he was roundly criticized on social media for that presumption after his comments on MS NOW’s Morning Joe.
Democracy Left quoted Jeffries saying, “The American people don’t want us to get even. They want us to get things done on their behalf because life is way too expensive,” and it said pushback was brewing around his leadership plans.
Democracy Left said a petition to replace Jeffries had gathered nearly 900,000 signatures at the time of this writing, and it said DSA members including representatives-elect Chris Rabb and Melat Kiros joined in.
Democracy Left also said Kiros would “not vote for any Democrat for a leadership position if they take corporate PAC money,” while it described opponents as seeking to replace Jeffries and Schumer with someone who would investigate the Trump administration’s wrongdoing and corruption.
Policy leverage and Israel
The DSA bloc could complicate the legislative agenda of Democrats if it succeeds in winning back the House, and the upcoming vote for House speaker may serve as an early test.
The Forward said the DSA won at least five seats in the House and that the victories could give progressive Democrats greater leverage to pressure leadership into holding votes on Israel policy, an issue it said had divided the party since Oct. 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza.
President Trump announced Tuesday that the U.S. will end nearly $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of the year, while still allowing Israel to buy U.S. weapons.
The Forward also said the national DSA leads a campaign for a U.S. arms embargo on Israel and passing a 2025 resolution explicitly opposing Zionism, while it described DSA members as describing Israel’s conduct in Gaza as a genocide and supporting cutting off military aid to Israel.