Socialist candidates barnstorm country to grow ranks in Congress
Socialist candidates who haven’t yet been elected to Congress are actively campaigning to support like-minded candidates and to reshape the Democratic Party’s image. Leading up to the August 4 primaries in Michigan and Missouri, these candidates, backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and progressive groups, have endorsed each other, collaborated at events, and raised funds collectively. Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul el Sayed, distinct from socialists, attracts strong support from socialist and progressive figures, including endorsements from DSA-aligned candidates and appearances with prominent Democrats like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Campaign efforts also highlight coordinated endorsement strategies across different regions, notably in New York, with Ocasio-Cortez and others working together to maximize influence. The movement emphasizes issues like ending political money influence and implementing Medicare for All, facing opposition from established interests like AIPAC. Additionally, some candidates with controversial backgrounds, such as Hamawy with links to militant groups, are campaigning in this progressive wave. the cycle demonstrates a strategic, united push by socialist and progressive candidates to grow their presence and push for notable policy changes within the Democratic landscape.
They’re not elected to Congress yet, but the socialist candidates who won Democratic primaries earlier this year have already hit the campaign trail to stump for like-minded candidates across the country in an effort to reform the Democratic Party image.
Ahead of the Aug. 4 primaries in Michigan and Missouri, candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and progressive organizations have cross-endorsed one other, appeared at events together, and helped fundraise for each other as the coalition looks to boost its numbers in November.
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Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul el Sayed, who is not a socialist and is running against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), is seeing significant support from elected and nonelected socialist candidates, as well as progressive candidates aligned with the DSA.
That includes boosts from socialist Donavan McKinney, who is running for Michigan’s 13th District, and Will Lawrence, who cross-endorsed with el Sayed and is running for Michigan’s 7th District. El Sayed has also appeared alongside Democratic nominees Brad Lander, a former DSA member running in New York’s 10th District, and Adam Hamawy from New Jersey’s 12th District.
Lander, one of three candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, said in his endorsement that he and el Sayed would be partners in Washington on foreign policy if both are elected to Congress, a nod to the pair’s opposition to the U.S. sending military aid to Israel.
McKinney attended a campaign rally for el Sayed on July 18, during which the pair was joined by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the DSA, more recently appeared in an ad paid for by el Sayed released on Thursday, in which she claims that the pair may come from different places, but they are “forged from the same fight.”
In the advertisement, Ocasio-Cortez and el Sayed trade off promoting his campaign motto, “money out of politics, money in your pocket, and Medicare for all,” the latter of which Ocasio-Cortez argues is “the part they can’t stand.”
“That’s why billionaires are spending millions to bury Abdul and this movement,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to the millions of dollars AIPAC and its allies have spent supporting Stevens.
McKinney, a state representative hoping to oust Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) in a Detroit seat, has also called in the cavalry on the campaign trail, as Hamawy and Melat Kiros, who won her primary against longtime Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), have boosted McKinney. Kiros appeared as a special guest at a phone bank for McKinney hosted by the local DSA chapter.
Hamawy, who previously had ties to a militant Islamist known as the “Blind Sheikh,” is set to stump for McKinney on Friday.
Kiros is also set to appear alongside former Rep. Cori Bush, who is challenging Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) for her old House seat at a campaign rally on Aug. 2.
The endorsement strategy of progressives, and that of Ocasio-Cortez, this cycle has been notable. In New York, Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani coordinated their endorsements ahead of the primaries to “maximize their collective influence,” according to Politico.
The coordination saw Mamdani endorse candidates running for the U.S. House, while Ocasio-Cortez endorsed in state legislative races to avoid endorsing against their peers.
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When asked about the strategy, Ocasio-Cortez told the Majority Report that the endorsements were the result of the “natural limitations that come with any one elected position.”
“So sometimes this coordination — it’s not just explicit; it’s also us functioning within the roles,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And if anything, it also demonstrates the advantage of us organizing to support people at multiple levels of governance.”
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