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DSA vs America First

DSA Backs 131 Candidates Nationwide as a Fight Over Its LA Mayoral Endorsement Drags On

By AFNS Research Desk · · 1 min read

Los Angeles City Hall in downtown Los Angeles
Photo: Levi Clancy / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

The numbers

Ballotpedia counts 131 DSA-endorsed candidates on the November 3 ballot, in 30 states plus D.C.: 10 for the U.S. House, 52 for state legislatures and 69 for local office. DSA also took positions on 33 ballot measures. New York has the most state legislative candidates, with 11 running for the State Assembly, and 37 of the 69 local candidates are in California. DSA-backed candidates are running for mayor in Los Angeles, Louisville and Washington, D.C.

Membership has more than doubled in two years, to roughly 126,000.

The Raman fight

In Los Angeles, Councilmember Nithya Raman is challenging Mayor Karen Bass after winning 66% of the LA chapter's endorsement vote. But on Monday, DSA's National Political Committee (NPC), its 27-member national board, again put off deciding whether to withdraw that endorsement over her position on the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel (BDS). The vote comes a week before Election Day.

Beyond Nov. 3

The New Yorker reports that since Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York, 123 DSA-backed candidates have won primaries, including 19 congressional nominees. The Hill reports that incoming DSA-backed House members plan to press Hakeem Jeffries on Medicare for All and aid to Israel if Democrats win a narrow majority. DSA is also launching a national arms embargo campaign on October 29 that targets United Airlines and Elbit Systems.

Sources

  1. Ballotpedia: DSA backs 131 candidates news.ballotpedia.org
  2. LA Times: DSA postpones Raman decision www.latimes.com
  3. The New Yorker: How the D.S.A. learned to love elections www.newyorker.com
  4. Washington Post/AP: DSA membership growth www.washingtonpost.com
  5. The Hill: Jeffries faces DSA challenge thehill.com
  6. DSA October newsletter www.dsausa.org

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