Socialists Eye 2028 Democratic Primary

The Democratic Socialists of America are openly planning to take over the 2028 Democratic presidential primary — and they say they’d be “thrilled” if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez runs.

Quick Take

The Democratic Socialists of America, with over 100,000 members and 250 chapters, are asking all their chapters to weigh in on who they want to back for president in 2028.
DSA-backed candidates have already knocked out long-term Democratic incumbents in New York and Colorado, signaling real primary power.
Democratic Party leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Chris Murphy have warned that a hard-left shift could hurt the party with moderate voters.
Republicans plan to use the socialist surge to paint the entire Democratic Party as extreme — a strategy that could matter in swing states come 2028.

DSA Targets the 2028 Presidential Primary

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are not waiting quietly on the sidelines. The group is asking members across all 250 chapters to discuss who they want to support for president in 2028 and what they want to see in a campaign. New York City DSA co-chair Gustavo Gordillo has stated publicly that the group hopes to shape the next Democratic presidential primary. DSA co-chair Ashik Siddique confirmed the group has more than 100,000 members and 200 chapters nationwide — a real organizational base, not just online noise.

The DSA’s own blog put it bluntly in a post titled “DSA Needs a 2028 Presidential Campaign,” noting that 2024 was the first presidential election since 2012 without a democratic socialist candidate on the ballot. The group sees that as a gap it intends to fill. DSA leaders have said they would be “thrilled” if Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez entered the race, though no candidate has been formally named and no campaign committee has been set up yet.

Primary Wins Show the Movement Has Real Teeth

The DSA’s ambitions are backed by recent results. In New York, a DSA-backed candidate defeated incumbent Congressman Adriano Espaillat in a Democratic primary. In Colorado, Malak Kirros beat 15-term incumbent Diana DeGette in the state’s 1st congressional district by 10 points — a seat DeGette had won by 55 points just two years earlier. These are not close calls. They show the DSA can mobilize enough primary voters to remove well-established Democratic figures from office.

Some of those winning candidates have drawn sharp criticism. DSA-backed candidates have supported abolishing police, prisons, and borders. Some have questioned Israel’s right to exist. One reportedly used profanity against former Vice President Kamala Harris. Opponents have used these statements to argue the DSA represents a fringe that most Americans — including most Democrats — do not support. Whether those statements reflect the movement as a whole or just individual candidates remains a point of debate.

Democrats Divided, Republicans Ready to Pounce

The DSA’s rise is splitting the Democratic Party. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Chris Murphy have both warned party members not to ignore extreme statements from candidates on the left. They worry that winning deep-blue primaries does not mean winning general elections — especially in competitive districts where moderate voters decide outcomes. Traditional Democrats fear that moving too far left will hand Republicans easy campaign material heading into 2028.

Republicans are already framing the DSA’s growth as proof that the Democratic Party has been taken over by socialists. That message is aimed squarely at swing voters who may not follow primary politics closely but respond to broad labels. For Americans on both the left and the right who are already skeptical of party elites, this fight raises a fair question: is either party actually focused on solving the problems — rising costs, stagnant wages, broken institutions — that millions of working people face every day? The DSA says the establishment has failed. The establishment says the DSA is unelectable. Voters in 2028 will have to decide who’s right.