OPINION:
This year, at least 82 state legislative candidates across the nation have been identified as dues-paying members, endorsees or self-identified members of the Democratic Socialists of America — and 65 of them have advanced to the November general election.
These numbers should get our attention, and not simply because these candidates could influence the direction of state legislatures if elected.
A state legislative office can provide what political movements need to build lasting power: governing experience, legislative records, fundraising networks, name recognition and a platform from which to pursue higher office.
People were interested in these podcasts
The DSA’s 2026 state legislative candidates are spread across 24 states, competing for seats in state houses and state senates. New York alone had 19 DSA-identified candidates this cycle, with 17 on the November ballot.
Oregon and Vermont each have six; Minnesota and Pennsylvania each have five; and candidates are on the ballot in states such as Florida, Maryland, Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan and Texas.
This is not a handful of activists running isolated campaigns. It is a nationwide effort to put DSA-aligned candidates in positions of political power.
That matters because state legislatures are where major decisions affecting families and communities are made every day on taxes, spending, public safety, education, energy, labor policy and elections. If DSA-aligned candidates win seats, they will have an opportunity to turn movement activism into legislative power.
Here is another reason to pay attention: Statehouses can be launching pads. This year’s congressional primaries have already shown what that pipeline can look like.
In New York, Claire Valdez went from the State Assembly to winning the Democratic nomination for Congress. In Michigan, DSA-backed state Rep. Donavan McKinney defeated incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar in a Democratic congressional primary. In Colorado, democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated longtime Rep. Diana DeGette.
These primaries demonstrate how movements can develop candidates locally, give them elected experience and organizational networks, and eventually help them compete for higher office.
That is why we cannot dismiss the DSA’s growing presence in state legislatures as a collection of isolated races or a phenomenon limited to a few major cities.
I have seen firsthand how political movements can grow when they build from the ground up, and I have a particularly personal reason for taking seriously the ideology that the DSA is trying to advance.
As a Cuban American, I grew up hearing of the devastation that socialism and communism brought to Cuba under Fidel Castro — devastation that continues 67 years later.
My family fled a regime that promised equality and prosperity but instead delivered political oppression, economic collapse, rationing, censorship and the loss of basic freedoms. They came to America because this country offered something socialism never could: the opportunity to build a life through hard work, free enterprise and individual liberty.
That experience makes it impossible for me to view the normalization of DSA ideas as simply another political trend.
The DSA’s national leadership has been increasingly open about its long-term vision, including positions such as abolishing the U.S. Senate, restructuring the presidency and Supreme Court, abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defunding the Pentagon and pursuing public ownership of large corporations.
The more candidates the DSA helps elect, the more opportunities it has to turn its priorities into legislative agendas and develop the next generation of candidates.
That is the part of this year’s election that deserves more attention.
The question is not simply whether 65 DSA-linked candidates win or lose their individual races in November. It is whether the political infrastructure they are building continues to grow after Election Day.
Today’s state legislator can become tomorrow’s member of Congress. Today’s movement activist can become tomorrow’s party leader, and today’s political experiment in one state can become tomorrow’s national agenda.
Republicans should take that challenge seriously.
The 2026 midterm elections will determine who controls individual state legislative seats — and they will also help determine which political movements have the elected officials, experience and infrastructure to shape American politics for years to come.
The DSA has made clear that it intends to build that infrastructure.
With at least 82 candidates identified in state legislative races and 65 having already advanced to November, it is time for the rest of us to recognize just how serious that effort has become.
• Edith Jorge-Tunon is president of the Republican State Leadership Committee.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.