Do the Democratic Socialists of America endorse or run candidates in US elections?
Executive summary
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) does not operate as an electoral political party that fields candidates under its own ballot line, but it actively endorses, recruits, organizes for and materially supports candidates for local, state and national office—many of whom run on Democratic, Green, Working Families or independent lines—through a structured national and chapter-level endorsement process [1] [2] [3]. The organization also trains members to run for office and claims hundreds of members and endorsees have won elections since 2016, showing DSA functions as a political force that builds and backs candidates rather than a conventional candidate-running party [4] [3].
1. How DSA engages electorally: endorsements, organizing, and training
DSA’s electoral activity is deliberate and organizational: a National Electoral Commission vets and publicly lists “nationally endorsed candidates and ballot measures,” and the group says endorsements reflect an alignment with its platform and a commitment to an organized field operation intended to win [2] [1]. Local chapters run their own endorsement processes—complete with questionnaires, forums, and membership votes—and advertise that an endorsement means active volunteer labor such as canvassing, phone banking and poll coverage [5] [6] [7]. Ballotpedia maintains a catalog of DSA endorsements, underscoring that endorsement activity is extensive and tracked across jurisdictions [8] [9].
2. Does DSA “run” candidates or act as a party?
DSA does not typically run candidates on a DSA party ballot line; instead, its members and endorsees most often run as Democrats and occasionally on other parties or as independents, with the organization mobilizing support behind those campaigns [3]. The group adopted an electoral model aiming to build independent socialist capacity—often by running openly socialist candidates in Democratic primaries—yet that strategy has emphasized building a “self-standing political force” within existing electoral channels rather than creating a separate DSA ballot party [10] [4]. Official DSA materials and chapter pages describe endorsements and candidate support rather than presenting DSA as a nominating party in the way traditional parties do [1] [6].
3. Scale and results: wins, offices held, and electoral footprint
Since 2016 DSA’s electoral engagement has grown significantly: the organization and its chapters claim hundreds of elected officeholders who are members or were endorsed by DSA, and public listings tally dozens of nationally-endorsed winners and many local victories—DSA’s lists and independent compilations report over 100 to 200+ DSA-affiliated officeholders in various years, with specific tallies changing as new elections occur [3] [4]. Examples cited in reporting include members elected to the U.S. House (Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush) and many local officials, and Ballotpedia pages and chapter endorsement archives document the breadth and persistence of that activity [3] [11] [6].
4. Internal strategy debates, external backlash, and limits
DSA’s electoral strategy has produced internal debate and external controversy: the organization moved away from purely trying to shift the Democratic Party toward a model that builds independent socialist candidates, described by some as a “dirty break,” and that stance has at times created tensions with Democratic establishment figures and produced high-profile defeats where DSA-backed primary winners lost general elections [10]. The group’s decisions—such as when and whether to endorse major-party nominees—have varied by cycle (DSA did not endorse Hillary Clinton in 2016 and organized against Trump in 2020 after Sanders lost), reflecting strategic trade-offs that critics and supporters both highlight [10].
5. Bottom line: endorsement and support, not a separate ballot party
The decisive answer is that DSA endorses and actively supports candidates in U.S. elections, recruits and trains members to run, and provides organized campaign labor and national endorsements, but it is not principally a ballot-party that puts forward candidates under a DSA ticket; most DSA-affiliated candidates run under other parties’ lines while receiving DSA backing [1] [3] [2]. Public records from DSA chapters, the national Electoral Commission, Ballotpedia and Wikipedia consistently show DSA functioning as a member-led political organization that nominates and organizes for candidates rather than functioning as a conventional independent party that runs its own exclusive slate [6] [8] [10].