The number of democratic socialists in the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to more than double after the November midterms, potentially growing from two to five members. Current DSA members are New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib. Three new candidates aligned with the DSA, Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Chris Rabb, won Democratic primaries in heavily Democratic districts, putting them on a clear path to Washington. Valdez and Avila Chevalier, backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, prevailed in June; Avila Chevalier is projected to be the first Dominican American woman in Congress, and Valdez won an open seat. Chris Rabb won a Philadelphia-based primary in May.
This projected bloc of five would surpass the movement's modern peak of four members in 2021, which included Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Cori Bush, and Jamaal Bowman. Bush and Bowman lost re-election in 2024, reducing the current count to two. The DSA is also backing other candidates in upcoming primaries, including Melat Kiros in Colorado, Oliver Larkin in South Florida, and a comeback bid by former Representative Cori Bush.
Progressive groups like Our Revolution, founded out of Bernie Sanders' 2016 campaign, highlight that this growth is a result of ten years of organizing. While a bloc of five DSA members would still be a tiny fraction of the Democratic Party, some centrist Democrats express concern that a growing socialist presence could make the party unelectable nationally. Conversely, supporters argue that the "socialist" label has lost its Cold War-era stigma, and the movement's appeal is expanding beyond traditional strongholds, as evidenced by Melat Kiros's upset victory in Denver.
