Is the Rise of Socialism Dragging Down the Democratic Party?

A recent column in Rolling Stone has sparked a debate within the American progressive community, questioning whether the electoral surge of democratic socialists might doom the Democratic Party to lose the White House.

The significance of this debate lies not only in its content but in its origin: columnist Matt Bai presents his argument in a magazine long associated with progressive ideals, highlighting a growing discomfort even within liberal circles.

Bai posits that Bernie Sanders acted as a Trojan horse, infiltrating the party and reintroducing the concept of socialism to a generation unfamiliar with the Soviet breadlines, gulags, Cuban raft exiles, or Britain's Winter of Discontent.

This lack of historical awareness, Bai argues, has made it easier for the term "socialism" to shed its political stigma.

DSA’s Growing Influence

The column distinguishes between socialism as a pressure movement and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) as an organized entity with real structure, including members, leaders, and even branded merchandise.

"This is not just a movement," Bai writes. "It's a real party, with members, leadership, and even merchandising. While other social movements aimed to push the Democratic Party leftward, democratic socialists aim to replace it."

The DSA has already made electoral strides, with candidates winning mayoral seats in New York City and Seattle, and nearly doing so in Washington D.C., along with congressional primary victories in Colorado and New York.

Zohran Mamdani took office as New York City mayor on January 2, 2026, becoming the city's youngest mayor since 1892.

Electoral Challenges

Bai points to the official DSA platform as a major electoral hurdle. Their agenda includes nationalizing entire industries—real estate and insurance among them—eliminating private health insurance, closing all foreign military bases, withdrawing from NATO, abolishing immigration law enforcement, and abolishing the Senate to have Congress elect the president.

Jon Cowan and Matt Bennett, co-founders of the centrist group Third Way, summarized in a Washington Post op-ed: "The organization's ideas are electoral poison."

Impact on Cuban Community and Party Dynamics

The debate holds particular significance for the Cuban community. Bai highlights that a new generation of voters lacks awareness of Cuban rafters or the consequences of socialist regimes, which has facilitated the normalization of socialism in U.S. politics.

This generational gap, according to Bai, partly explains the DSA's progress.

The phenomenon is already affecting the party internally. Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, acknowledged on July 21 that socialism "doesn't sell" in Florida, largely due to the massive presence of Cuban and Venezuelan exiles who fled such regimes.

Nancy Pelosi has publicly criticized socialist candidates for challenging incumbent Democrats, issuing a stern warning: "You can't win by losing."

Former President Donald Trump has seized upon the debate with sustained anti-communist rhetoric, labeling Mamdani a "100% communist" and threatening to cut $7.4 billion in federal funds to New York. In July, he declared on Truth Social that Democrats "skipped socialism and went straight to communism."

Bai concludes his column with a cautionary note about the party's dilemma: the movement initiated by Sanders could soon become the Democratic Party's institutional voice. "But it's not necessarily a voice the rest of America wants to hear."