AOC defeated a 10-term Queens congressman in 2018 and Washington called it a fluke.
Eight years later, the machine she built is about to take over the entire party.
The new faces joining them in Washington are going to give Hakeem Jeffries nightmares.
Democratic Socialists Are Sweeping 2026 Midterm Primaries and Nobody Stopped Them
The original Squad started with four members in 2018 – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley – and Washington dismissed them as a fringe.
That fringe now sits at seven members and is about to become fourteen.
Melat Kiros, 29, unseated a 15-term Colorado incumbent to claim Denver's congressional seat – mirroring the AOC playbook that took out Joe Crowley.
Claire Valdez won her Brooklyn primary on a platform of nationwide rent control, headed for a seat in a district the New York Post has already dubbed the "Commie Corridor."
Chris Rabb, a self-described "radical" from Philadelphia who has championed government-run grocery stores, faces no Republican opponent in November.
His seat is already gone.
William Lawrence, a Michigan activist who co-founded the radical Sunrise Movement, clinched his primary after telling far-left streamer Hasan Piker, "You're the man!"
The Justice Democrats – the same machine that recruited AOC and launched the original Squad – is behind most of the new wave.
Polymarket now puts the odds of Democrats retaking the House at 88%.
One New Squad Candidate Defended the Blind Sheikh at the World Trade Center Bombing Trial
Darializa Avila Chevalier attended an anti-Israel rally the day after Hamas slaughtered 1,200 people on October 7 and argued that America's record is worse than Hamas's.
She is a shoo-in for a Harlem congressional seat.
Then there is Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon who won the Democrat primary in New Jersey's 12th Congressional District.
AOC endorsed him.
Fox News reported that Hamawy testified as a character witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman – the "Blind Sheikh" – during the 1995 seditious conspiracy trial that sent him to prison for plotting the World Trade Center bombing.
That bombing killed six people and injured more than 1,000.
When Hamawy was asked under oath whether the sheikh always talked about jihad, he answered: "Of course. That's what he always talked about."
His campaign now calls the scrutiny "guilt-by-association" shaming.
Congressional Democrats are rallying behind him anyway.
Hakeem Jeffries Faces a DSA Primary Challenge No Matter Who Wins the House in November
The night the New York socialists swept their primaries, a crowd at Claire Valdez's victory party spotted Hakeem Jeffries on a television screen.
They started chanting.
"You're next. You're next. You're next."
DSA member Asad Dandia – appointed Brooklyn borough historian by socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani – posted the same message online: "Hakeem Jeffries is not going to sleep well tonight. Good. We're coming."
Jeffries had backed two Democrat incumbents in those New York primaries.
Both lost.
He dodged the question and changed the subject to Trump.
That tells the whole story.
He is now watching his caucus be rebuilt around candidates who view him the same way the Squad viewed Nancy Pelosi – as an obstacle to be managed, then replaced.
The math traps him in both directions.
If Democrats take the House with a slim majority, a 14-member Super Squad holds the Speaker's gavel hostage before the first vote is cast – the same move the Freedom Caucus ran on Kevin McCarthy, only aimed further Left.
GOP consultant Doug Heye told the New York Post what follows: "They will be the loudest voices pushing for impeachment."
One former House leadership aide was blunter: "They will not compromise."
If Democrats fall short and stay in the minority, the problem does not get smaller.
A radicalized caucus with nothing to lose does not quietly accept the role of loyal opposition – it primaries the members who cooperate and pressures Jeffries to obstruct everything.
Jeffries can fight them and face a primary challenge from his Left flank – a 27-year-old New York City councilman has already filed paperwork to run against him.
Or he can move his caucus further Left and hand Republicans every attack ad they need for 2028.
The DNC voted this week to endorse abolishing ICE – and that agenda holds whether Democrats win the House or not.
Justice Democrats built the machine and AOC trained the candidates – and the chants at Hakeem Jeffries are what comes next.
The socialist insurgency is no longer knocking at the Democrat Party's door.
It is already inside – and Hakeem Jeffries is the one who has to figure out what to do about it.
Sources:
- Geoff Earle and Gabrielle Fahmy, "Super Squad! Radical House group could double in size — and influence — come November," New York Post, Aug. 15, 2026.
- "NJ Congressional Frontrunner Was Defense Witness for the Blind Sheikh," Fox News, May 5, 2026.
- "'Squad' Socialist Scores Re-Election Nod as Radical Wave Continues to Sweep Party," Fox News, Aug. 2026.
- Teri Christoph, "The DNC Just Went Full DSA — and This Vote Proves It," RedState, Aug. 15, 2026.
- "Hakeem Jeffries Confronted on 'You're Next' Chants Following NY Democratic Socialist Victories," Fox News, June 25, 2026.
- Amy Curtis, "Did You Hear New York Socialists' Creepy Chant Following Tuesday's Primary?" Townhall, June 24, 2026.