Democratic socialists win 4 mayoral races as anti-Trump wave builds

A wave of democratic socialist candidates is reshaping urban politics from Washington to Seattle, winning four mayoral races in the past year and threatening to pull the Democratic Party further left.

Democratic Socialists of America candidates won mayoral primaries or general elections in Washington, New York, Seattle and Los Angeles over the past year, a surge fueled by anti-Trump sentiment and voter frustration with affordability. The DSA's membership has swelled from a few thousand to more than 100,000 over the past decade, driven by younger Americans inspired by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders's presidential campaigns.

"They are all channeling a displeasure with a status quo and a serious desire for economic populism that the establishment Democratic Party hasn't been preaching," said Eric Stern, a Democratic strategist at Fight Agency who worked on Mamdani's campaign.

Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic mayoral primary in Washington on June 16 with 53.5% of the vote, defeating former at-large council member Kenyan McDuffie's 35.9%. Zohran Mamdani toppled former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to become New York City mayor last November. Katie Wilson won an upset victory in Seattle the same month, and Los Angeles council member Nithya Raman advanced to a November runoff against Mayor Karen Bass earlier this month. All four are DSA members.

The victories give the DSA control of city halls representing more than 15 million Americans, putting left-wing policy agendas — including rent control, free childcare and confrontations with the Trump administration — to the test of governance. Whether these urban wins translate into national political influence will be determined in part by DSA-backed candidates in New York's congressional primaries on June 23.

A rising left tests its governing model

The democratic socialist wave has limits. Democratic mayors in Atlanta, Houston, Miami and San Francisco won recent elections on relatively moderate platforms. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, endorsed by the city's DSA chapter during his 2023 campaign, has faced criticism from both moderate and liberal leaders over budget battles, property taxes and public safety. Recalls and public pressure ousted progressive district attorneys in multiple jurisdictions over the past five years as criminal justice reform efforts collided with post-pandemic concerns about public disorder.

In Seattle, Mayor Katie Wilson — who campaigned against incumbent Bruce Harrell's punitive approach to public safety — now finds herself directing a crackdown on an open-air drug market at a high-profile intersection. In New York, Mamdani has secured a $1.2 billion state investment in early childhood education but has seen other campaign promises, including free public buses, stall.

Trump's hardline immigration and law enforcement agenda poses an especially serious threat to Washington because of its status as a federal territory. "Maybe we take back Washington and run it on a federal basis," Trump told reporters this month when asked about Lewis George's potential election. "We won't put up with it."

The 'sewer socialist' strategy

Mamdani and Lewis George both describe themselves as "sewer socialists," a term that recalls the Gilded Age mayors who focused on public works projects rather than critiques of market economics. The label is a strategic shift to align leftist ideas with voter concerns over affordability and the economy — the top issue in the midterm elections — and to reposition democratic socialists as pragmatic public servants rather than ideological firebrands.

"People are tired of hearing what government can't do. They want to hear what government can do," Lewis George said before the primary.

The DSA is now seeking to extend its influence to Congress. Mamdani is backing three House candidates in New York's June 23 primaries, including Darializa Avila Chevalier against Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Claire Valdez in the race to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez. Their platforms include abolishing ICE, establishing a four-day, 32-hour work week, enacting national rent control and passing Medicare for All.

For voters, the socialist label has not been a decisive factor. Owen Fitzgerald, a University of Maryland graduate student who voted for Lewis George, said he didn't know she was a democratic socialist until he saw news reports. "It sends a cultural message to this administration that the people who are surrounding them in the capital are opposed to their platform," he said.

The last time a similar left-wing wave crested in American cities was during the 2017-2019 cycle, when DSA-backed candidates won seats on city councils and state legislatures. Those gains did not translate into national electoral success. Whether this cycle proves different depends on whether the new mayors can deliver on their promises of affordable housing, childcare and responsive government — and whether voters credit them for it.

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