Democratic socialists surge in mayoral races across the country as
anti-Trump fervor rises
[June 19, 2026]
By MATT BROWN
WASHINGTON (AP) — As Janeese Lewis George paves a path to the mayor's
office in Washington, D.C., she's told voters they could have it all.
Her unapologetically expansive, left-wing agenda includes subsidized or
even free childcare, increased down payment assistance for homebuyers
and community resources to reduce crime, plus a promise to aggressively
confront President Donald Trump's attempts to reshape the nation's
capital.
“People are tired of hearing what government can’t do. They want to hear
what government can do,” Lewis George said in an interview before the
city's primary, where she defeated her Democratic opponents and
positioned herself to win the general election in November in a city
dominated by Democrats.
Lewis George's victory signals a break with a quarter-century of
centrist governance in Washington, and it puts her in the vanguard of
democratic socialists who have ascended in urban politics over the last
year. Zohran Mamdani toppled Andrew Cuomo, the scion of a political
dynasty, on his way to becoming New York City mayor. Katie Wilson won an
upset victory to lead Seattle last fall. And this month, Nithya Raman
clinched a spot in the November runoff against Los Angeles Mayor Karen
Bass.
All of them are members of the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA.
The political organization has seen its membership ranks swell from a
few thousand to more than 100,000 nationwide over the last decade after
an influx of younger Americans joined following the presidential bids of
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, also a self-described democratic socialist.
There's little sign of national coordination among the candidates, and
it’s unclear whether voters are gravitating toward their promises of
improved government services, their vows to fight the Trump
administration or their critiques of capitalism.
But from coast to coast, confrontational progressives are advancing in
mayoral races. City leaders can draw outsized attention for their
successes and failures, and democratic socialists will be under pressure
from residents to deliver on their vows for a new kind of governance.
Whether that translates to national politics is a next test for their
movement.
“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 with
Fight Agency, a political consulting firm that strategized Mamdani's
mayoral campaign.
Stern added that Democratic voters appeared more willing to support the
most progressive candidate in mayoral races rather than in contests for
the U.S. House. Candidates like Mamdani and Raman, Stern said, are
“daring voters to dream and fall in love not just with the individual
candidates but also the political process as a whole.”
A rising left navigates America's urban challenges
The trend of progressives surging in urban areas may have limits for its
broader impact on Democratic politics. Democratic mayors in cities
including Atlanta, Houston, Miami and San Francisco won on relatively
moderate platforms in recent years.
Progressive have also faced noteworthy challenges. Chicago Mayor Brandon
Johnson was endorsed by the city's DSA chapter during his 2023 mayoral
run but has since faced criticism from both moderate and liberal local
leaders on issues such as immigration, the local budget and public
safety. Recalls and public pressure ousted progressives elected to
district attorney offices in multiple jurisdictions over the last five
years, when criminal justice reform efforts ran into dissatisfaction
over public disorder following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump's hardline immigration and law enforcement tactics have also
become a challenge for liberal cities. The president's agenda poses an
especially serious threat to Washington, D.C., because of its status as
a federal territory.
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Supporters celebrate after D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George
won the D.C. Mayor primary election during an election night party
at the Howard Theatre, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
“Maybe we take back Washington and run it on a federal basis,” Trump
told reporters this month when asked about the potential election of
a democratic socialist as the district's mayor. “We won’t put up
with it.”
But progressives hope the current wave of anti-Trump furor in deep
blue cities across the country will help buoy the chances of those
on the hard left.
“It’s not folks looking for the leftmost option so much as looking
for a candidate who’s gonna be on their side,” said Ravi Mangla,
speaking for the left-wing Working Families Party. The party often
endorses the same candidates as the DSA and is readying to target
more mayoral offices in the country's biggest metropolises this fall
and in 2028.
“It’s less about whether you are on the right or on the left so much
as whether you are willing to punch up at the powerful,” he added.
Mamdani and Lewis George are both self-described “sewer socialists”
who emphasize the need for responsive government services rather
than critiques of market economics. The phrase recalls the socialist
Gilded Age mayors whom critics derided as too preoccupied with
managing public works projects.
The term's revival is partly a strategic move to align leftist ideas
with concerns over affordability and the economy, voters' top
concern in the midterm elections, and shift the public perception of
democratic socialists from firebrands who support radical policies
to independent-minded public servants.
“This is absolutely a change election and I’m excited to bring the
change that people want, which is really putting people first in the
city and having the moral clarity and courage to stand up to Trump,”
Lewis George said.
For voters the ‘socialist’ label did not seem to matter
While conservatives have used the “socialist” label to attack
Democrats as extreme or incompetent, some D.C. voters appeared
ambivalent before Tuesday's primary.
Several lifelong residents said they believed Lewis George was a
“fighter” but didn't think she'd have much of an impact on the local
economy, given the city's status as a federal district.
“I go back and forth on my own labels and whether I am supportive of
that movement or not, but I am supportive of making D.C. more
affordable,” Owen Fitzgerald, a University of Maryland graduate
student, said of his support for democratic socialism.
Fitzgerald voted for Lewis George because she would stand up to
Trump and said he'd first learned of her campaign from friends in
his neighborhood. But he didn't know she was a democratic socialist
until he saw news reports describing her with the label.
“It sends a cultural message to this administration that the people
who are surrounding them in the capital are opposed to their
platform, opposed to their political agenda, and I think that it
will send a message, both nationally and internationally,”
Fitzgerald said.
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