Democratic Socialists of America candidates win 14 of 133 races in 2026 cycle

The Democratic Socialists of America fielded candidates in 133 races during the 2026 election cycle, according to the organization’s election tracker. Fourteen candidates won, 91 remained active, and 27 recorded losses. Zohran Mamdani won the New York mayoral race in 2025.

Chris Rabb won the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District in 2026. Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez won reelection to the Los Angeles City Council. Dot Reid won a seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District board.

Randy Villegas advanced in California’s 22nd Congressional District primary. S. Senate in Maine. The organization’s rise accelerated after Sen. Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaigns and Rep.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 victory over Joe Crowley in New York’s Democratic primary for Congress. Mamdani’s 2025 victory gave the DSA one of its largest governing footholds and expanded progressive infrastructure into congressional, state, and local races. Ruy Teixeira, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said the DSA is no longer a fringe group.

“Their influence is far more than people would have guessed it would be just several years ago,” Teixeira said. He described the organization as the vanguard of the left-wing educated activist element within the Democratic Party. Matt McDermott, senior vice president at Whitman Insight Strategies, said many voters are motivated by performance rather than ideology.

“The strongest signal from Democratic voters right now frankly isn’t ideological, it’s entirely performance-based,” McDermott said. He added that voters are rewarding candidates they view as fighters focused on affordability and economic frustration. Kate deGruyter, vice president of communications at Third Way, warned that identification with democratic socialism carries electoral risk.