A 29-year-old socialist just knocked off a 30-year Democrat congresswoman in Colorado.
Now the group that did it is setting its sights on something far bigger than a House seat.
And one of their leaders just went on national television to announce exactly what they're coming for next.
DSA Goes Five for Five as Democrat Incumbents Fall Across America
A year ago, the Democratic Socialists of America helped elect Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, putting a socialist in charge of the country's largest city.
Last week, DSA-backed candidates toppled two sitting members of Congress in New York – including Adriano Espaillat, chair of the entire Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Then on June 30, Melat Kiros – a first-time candidate – knocked out Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado's 1st Congressional District, a woman who had been in Congress for nearly 30 years.
Kiros lost her law firm job after writing a letter defending student protests over Israel's war in Gaza.
She also called the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians "an inevitable consequence of apartheid."
The DSA held her up as proof the party belongs to them now.
Socialists are flexing their political muscle in Democrat primaries across the country.
AOC 2028 Presidential Run Talk Grows as DSA Moves In
On MS NOW, DSA New York City co-chair Gustavo Gordillo laid out what his group is eyeing next.
"I think that we will be trying to influence the next presidential primary," Gordillo announced on air.
He then named the organization's preferred candidate, saying "many in the organization would be very thrilled if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ended up running."
AOC herself has been coy – but barely.
"Could I be president? Could I not be president? Maybe, maybe not," she told Fox News Digital last month.
When a reporter told her that JD Vance predicted she would be the leading Democrat candidate in 2028, AOC smiled and said, "I hope he is" – meaning she hopes Vance becomes the Republican nominee.
That answer was not an accident.
The DSA formally voted at their 2025 national convention in Chicago to run a socialist presidential candidate in 2028 on the Democrat ballot line.
DSA national co-chair Megan Romer said the organization expects to conduct "millions of hours" of door-knocking for their 2028 candidate.
Members across all 250 chapters will weigh in first, then leadership holds formal discussions before a convention vote in 2027.
The machine is already built.
The people celebrating these wins have publicly described their ultimate goal as Communism.
One of their victorious candidates in New York City, Darializa Avila Chevalier, called the United States "a f—ing disgrace."
AOC went on Jen Psaki's show and told her colleagues in Congress to get behind DSA candidates.
Even James Carville – the strategist who put Bill Clinton in the White House – went public with a warning, telling Democrats they need "somebody that can win this god— thing" when asked whether AOC was viable for 2028.
Former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel went further, publicly warning that the new generation of Democrat socialists don't like America.
Democrat voters aren’t listening to the old guard.
The DSA Blueprint Is Working and the 2028 White House Is the Target
The DSA is not stopping with Congress.
Their next primary targets include a Senate race in Michigan, a governor's race in Wisconsin, and contests in Florida, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles.
They are building a nationwide organization – not a Twitter following.
The establishment Democrat Party spent a decade blocking Bernie Sanders and failed to learn a single lesson from it.
The DSA is better organized now, the candidates are younger, and the win column keeps growing.
Mamdani took New York City's mayor's office. Gordillo went on national television to announce the DSA's plan to control the 2028 Democrat presidential nomination. The line between those two events is not complicated.
AOC spent the last six months crisscrossing the country with Bernie Sanders on their "Fighting the Oligarchy" tour. She tested her national message in every early primary state and drew overflow crowds doing it.
She just won her own primary easily against a Wall Street-backed challenger who argued she had gone national at the expense of her own district.
The energy and momentum of the socialist movement in the Democrat Party could make AOC a force in the 2028 Primary.
Sources:
- Lindsay Kornick, "Democratic Socialists of America leader says 'many' in group would be 'thrilled' at AOC in 2028," Fox News, July 3, 2026.
- Amanda Macias, "AOC easily defeats Wall Street banker in New York Democratic primary," Fox News, June 2026.
- Ward Clark, "Far-Left DSA Fanatics Now 'Very Thrilled' for AOC 2028 POTUS Run," RedState, July 3, 2026.
- Paul Steinhauser, "DSA targets Colorado congressional primary after NYC socialist victories," Fox News, June 2026.
- "Democratic Socialists of America to survey members on their choice for a 2028 presidential candidate," The Post Millennial, June 2026.