Socialism used to be a fringe label in American politics, but now socialist policies are running city halls from Seattle to New York City. And come January, socialists will control a bigger block in Congress than ever before.
So what happens when a movement built on protesting capitalism becomes a movement that has to govern?
Susan Ferrechio takes a look at what socialist leadership actually looks like once it’s in power, and what it means as this party grows from city council to Capitol Hill.
How large is the Democratic Socialists of America-aligned bloc in Congress likely to grow?
The DSA of America membership has grown to more than 120,000 members nationwide with chapters in all 50 states. Three DSA-aligned House members from New York are set to win election to Congress in November.
They’ll join representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who aren’t official DSA members, are expected to align with this growing block of lawmakers on shared priorities, among them taxes on the wealthy and corporations, free child care and free college.
What does socialist governance look like in a major city right now?
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered on a key campaign promise to freeze the rent for roughly 1 million rent-stabilized units. The first of its kind freeze did nothing, however, to help rent prices at the city’s remaining 1.3 million non-stabilized apartments. Those hit an all-time high this summer.
A new tax on luxury homes that serve as second residences took effect on July 1st and is aimed at raising $500 million a year for child care services and other services for the working class.
Is the “tax the rich” strategy working as promised?
Critics pointed out that as soon as the new tax took effect, only one property costing more than $10 million sold in the second week of July, the lowest total since last December, per Olshan Realty analyst Donna Olshan. She called the tax a “money grab wrapped in deep politics,” and predicted that it will raise at most $320 million, well under the original target.
Critics argue rent control simply shifts the cost onto renters who do not have stabilized leases.
What’s happening in Seattle under socialist leadership?
Mayor Katie Wilson recently dismissed fears that a new 9.9% wealth tax would drive millionaires out of the state and suggested it would be just fine if the wealthy move away and take their significant tax contribution with them.
Meanwhile, Seattle-based Starbucks is expanding significant corporate operations to Nashville, a $100 million investment in 2,000 jobs that could have gone to Seattle. This happened after Wilson joined a Starbucks worker picket line and called for a boycott of the company because workers felt they were underpaid.
Business leaders have sounded the alarm about Seattle’s high tax policy. The downtown vacancy rate for businesses jumped from 6% in 2019 to 32% in 2025. The city also faces a $140 million budget deficit.
How have socialist policies impacted public safety?
Previous city leadership in Burlington, Vermont, slashed police funding while expanding free medical care, food, and services for homeless people. The city is now dealing with a significant rise in the homeless population and a spike in crime. The current mayor, from Vermont’s progressive party, is now working to rebuild the police department the city slashed years ago.
How are Republicans responding to socialism’s expanding foothold?
President Trump has repeatedly framed the party’s leftward shift as a slide into “godless communism.” Using it as a broader midterm message about the whole Democratic Party, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Mamdani is effectively running the Democratic Party now, a claim meant to tie the entire party to the socialist government.
Republicans are pointing to real-world outcomes — Seattle’s business exodus, New York City’s slowing luxury real estate market — as evidence that the socialist model doesn’t really work in practice.
What does this mean for the larger Democratic Party?
Recently, Representative Gwen Moore argued that Democrats have to stop “being shy about the socialist label.” Rather than let Republicans define it for them, she frames things like environmental regulations, clean energy investment and other policies that Republicans simply relabel as socialist as actually just Democratic policies.
The Democrats are struggling to define their own identity. Some officials embrace the “socialist” label outright. Others, like Representative Ro Khanna, prefer the progressive label.
The socialist movement isn’t a protest bloc anymore. It’s running budgets, setting tax policy, and impacting huge corporations like Starbucks.
A few policies are delivering real wins for certain renters and the working-class residents. Some of it is driving businesses and revenue out the door. Come January, that tension moves from city hall into the biggest socialist bloc in Congress this country has ever seen.
