Democratic socialists ride wave of momentum in primaries from New York to Colorado

Surging membership and pro-Palestinian activism reshape debate on how campaigning movement governs in office Inside a Brooklyn industrial garage turned underground event venue, local leaders of the Democratic Socialists of America urged hundreds of mostly young people last month to avoid complacency. Sure, New York City had a democratic socialist representative in the US Congress, and just elected a democratic socialist mayor. But they had so much more to do. “If we only elect Zohran, we only elect AOC, our project will have been a failure,” Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of the city’s DSA chapter, told the assembled crowd. “Our ambitions are so much higher than just a position in government. We want to transform the world.” “To do that,” he continued, “we have to transform DSA into a factory.” In recent months, a production line of victorious DSA candidates has cranked into gear – in New York, and beyond. Pennsylvania Democrats picked Chris Rabb, an unflinchingly progressive state representative, as the party’s candidate for its third congressional district. Janeese Lewis George is slated to be the next mayor of Washington DC. And on Tuesday in Colorado, Melat Kiros, a democratic soci