WASHINGTON — Democratic Socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier recently secured a House nomination in New York, sparking an internal fight inside the Democratic Party. Chevalier has publicly called Joe Biden a "rapist" and posted "Fuck Kamala Harris" on social media. Her victory points to the growing influence of the Democratic Socialists of America within Democratic primaries.
The DSA now holds an expanding caucus in Congress and supports mayoral candidates well-positioned to win in several large cities. The organization has also outlined plans to back a yet-to-be-determined presidential candidate in 2028, all while advocating positions that move well beyond the established Democratic platform.
The DSA's version of democratic socialism goes further than policies like a higher minimum wage or Medicare for All, which share some ideological ground with mainstream Democrats. Chevalier has called for seizing land and the means of production and has repeatedly praised communism — a significant departure from the mixed-economy model that has guided the Democratic Party since the New Deal.
The DSA's positions also diverge on international affairs. Chevalier joined a celebratory rally after Oct. 7 and characterized Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a defensive response to Western "bullying" — a stance that runs counter to the Democratic Party's traditional foreign policy and its support for Ukraine.
A Washington Post-Ipsos poll released last Thursday found that 75 percent of Democratic voters would consider a presidential candidate who identifies as a democratic socialist. Among all registered voters, however, 54 percent said they would not consider supporting such a candidate, against 42 percent who would.
That overall rejection was driven largely by Republicans, with 88 percent saying they would not vote for such a candidate, compared to 10 percent who would. Independents showed similar resistance: 54 percent against, 36 percent in favor. The numbers suggest that while the DSA builds internal party strength, its brand faces steep obstacles in general elections.
The DSA's growing hostility toward the Democratic Party's leadership creates a direct tension. The organization's core ideology, not fleeting youthful idealism, drives these positions — forcing the Democratic Party to manage internal divisions even as it battles the Republican Party.
Some public commentators have tried to frame democratic socialism as synonymous with widely accepted government functions. Joy Behar said on The View that New York City voters are "not afraid of the term democratic socialism," equating it with Social Security, unemployment insurance, garbage collection and fire services — public functions most Republicans and Democrats already support.
The DSA was founded in 1982 by writer and activist Michael Harrington, whose original goal was to establish a socialist movement that would push the Democratic Party toward more humane domestic and foreign policies. Harrington insisted on an absolute commitment to free speech, elections and democratic norms, having watched earlier socialist organizations collapse under communist infiltration.
The organization has since moved away from that founding vision — more hostile to the Democratic Party, more illiberal and more dogmatic. That trajectory stands as an ironic contrast to its origins, when it was formed specifically to oppose the ideological rigidity it now exhibits.
Questions about the DSA's economic platform have also surfaced. DSA co-chair Megan Romer struggled during a Fox News interview with Shannon Bream to clarify the organization's tax policy. A similar exchange unfolded on The New Yorker Radio Hour, where editor David Remnick pressed Romer on "taxing the hell out of millionaires" — together highlighting the difficulty the organization has in spelling out specific funding mechanisms for its agenda.
The organization's use of "democratic socialist" does not always align with traditional liberal democracy. Many socialist thinkers define "true democracy" as a system in which capitalism has been overturned and the working class has seized political power through a representative vanguard — a redefinition that underscores the fundamental ideological distance between the DSA and the party it is working to reshape.
