Democratic socialists just swept Democrat primaries from New York to Michigan to Colorado.
And Congress is not even their first target.
And Republicans just found the blueprint that shows exactly where this is headed next.
65 Democratic Socialist Candidates Are on November Ballots Across 24 States
The Republican State Leadership Committee just released a memo laying out exactly what the Democratic Socialists of America are building – and the picture is more organized than most Republicans realize.
The DSA is not targeting just Congress – it is targeting every level of government in America – statehouses, governorships, utility boards – with a plan to build political power from city halls to Capitol Hill.
At least 65 DSA-aligned candidates have advanced to the November general election across 24 states – New York alone has 17 on the ballot.
The candidates themselves are not hiding what they believe.
New York Democratic State Sen. Jabari Brisport posted directly on his campaign website: he will "continue to do everything I can to end policing and incarceration in New York State."
Wisconsin's Ryan Clancy told a local outlet that American police have "no dignity or value" and called policing "epically racist and classist."
Eleanor Chávez – the DSA-backed New Mexico state rep – called ICE agents "fascist" and compared them to the KKK.
New York Assemblywoman Sarahana Shrestha is pushing legislation to allow the government to acquire Central Hudson Gas and Electric – potentially through eminent domain – if a negotiated purchase fails, and a DSA-backed candidate in Michigan is running the same utility takeover playbook.
The coordination is not accidental.
The RSLC memo makes clear why the statehouse matters: state legislative offices give socialist candidates everything a political movement needs to survive – governing experience, donor networks, name recognition, and a launch pad for higher office.
How the DSA Used State Legislature Seats to Win Congressional Primaries in 2026
This summer in Michigan, DSA-backed state Rep. Donovan McKinney knocked out an incumbent Democratic congressman in a primary.
Melat Kiros did the same in Colorado, defeating a 30-year incumbent to win a Democratic congressional nomination.
Claire Valdez took a different route – straight from the New York State Assembly to winning the Democratic nomination for Congress.
Think of it like a baseball farm system.
Every DSA candidate who wins a state legislative seat is a prospect developing in the minor leagues – building name recognition, raising money, collecting endorsements, learning the game – and when the moment is right, they get called up.
Three got the call to Congress this year alone, and the farm system already has 65 new prospects waiting on November ballots.
The roster only grows.
Speaker Mike Johnson has been warning about this for months, calling the 2026 midterms a fight between "common sense versus communism." A Fox News poll from September found 55% of registered voters view the DSA unfavorably – yet their candidates filled ballots across 24 states anyway.
This is not a New York City problem.
Chuck Schumer and the Democrat Party Are Already Funding the 2026 Socialist Surge
The DSA's platform – called "Workers Deserve More" – demands abolishing the U.S. Senate, drafting an entirely new Constitution, and placing large corporations under government control, and DSA co-chair Megan Romer went on national television and reaffirmed every one of those positions.
Gavin Newsom – the man positioning himself for a future presidential run – told reporters that DSA ideas are "pretty aligned" with the mainstream Democrat Party.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spent his own primary working to stop Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, then a super PAC aligned with Schumer committed millions of dollars to El-Sayed's general election campaign.
That is what capitulation looks like.
RSLC president Edith Jorge-Tunon is a Cuban American whose family fled socialism, and she put the threat plainly: state legislative seats today are the launching pads to Congress tomorrow.
The DSA had 7,000 members in 2016 – it now claims 120,000, and the statehouse-to-Congress pipeline delivered congressional primary victories in a single election cycle this year.
The races on state ballots in three weeks are not random local politics – they are the ground floor of a national project a decade in the making, and it is already delivering results.
Speaker Johnson understands what is at stake – the farm system is stocked, the pipeline is proven, and November is just the next draft class.
This is not slowing down.
Sources:
- Robert Schmad, "Socialists Set Sights on the Ground Floor of Government as GOP Warns of Bigger Plan Unfolding," Fox News, October 10, 2026.
- Edith Jorge-Tunon, "DSA Candidates You've Never Heard of Could Wreak Big Havoc," The Washington Times, October 7, 2026.
- "Socialist Victories Show Dems' Descent Down 'Deadly Path of Communism,' Johnson Warns," Fox News, 2026.
- "On the Campaign Trail: Johnson Casts Midterms as 'Common Sense vs. Communism,'" The Daily Signal, August 18, 2026.
- "Democrats Are Giving Republicans a Gift with DSA: Bob Cusack," Washington Examiner, August 27, 2026.