The largest socialist group in the U.S. says its membership is climbing since New York state Rep. Zohran Mamdani became the presumptive Democratic nominee for the New York City mayoral election on Tuesday.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) said on Thursday that people “are joining DSA in droves” after disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded the mayoral primary race to Mamdani, a DSA member who received outreach and fundraising assistance from the group’s New York City chapter. The DSA’s statement and social media posts from self-identified members seem to affirm conservatives’ concerns that Mamdani’s rise has put the far-left organization back on the map.
We did this. Join DSA. pic.twitter.com/nA0hNJwXX0
— NYC-DSA
(@nycDSA) June 25, 2025
(@nycDSA) “Our fellow democratic socialist and DSA member Zohran Mamdani is now the Democratic Party’s nominee for Mayor of New York City!” the DSA wrote to supporters in an email obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Now people like you across the country — from Kansas, to Florida, to Texas — are joining DSA in droves.”
“Through torrential downpours and life-threatening heat, NYC-DSA members and members from across the country knocked on thousands of doors, made thousands of phone calls, brought the block to the polls, and delivered a victory for working people everywhere,” the email said.
Several users on X replied to an Oregon-based DSA leader’s posts after the election by declaring that they had joined the DSA, with some posting screenshots of membership confirmations. The DSA leader said the organization saw more than 1,300 new members nationwide between Tuesday and Wednesday after membership increased only by dozens on prior days.
The DSA’s national and New York City chapters did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.
The mayoral primary became a prominent battle in an ongoing fight over the Democratic Party’s ideals. Mamdani, 33, embraced far-left stances on criminal justice, the economy, the Israel-Hamas war and other issues compared to older, more mainstream candidates such as Cuomo, who was the second place finisher in the race. The DSA has historically counted far-left lawmakers like Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan as members.
The DSA itself also dealt with infighting over how to handle declines in membership and finances leading up to President Donald Trump’s reelection, the DCNF previously reported.
The group experienced more division when some members praised the fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy workers in Washington, D.C., The Free Press reported. The DSA responded by saying such views are not its official position, prompting arguments in the organization’s internal chat boards about whether encouraging political violence aligns with its values.
Events such as the death of George Floyd in 2020 and the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 were accompanied by jumps in DSA membership, the DCNF previously reported. Now, the DSA is taking credit for the “new political era” it believes Mamdani represents as New York City voters await official confirmation of the primary results in his favor.
“We have proven every establishment Democratic Party leader wrong: only well-organized people inspired by a socialist vision of the future can beat fascism,” the DSA said Thursday. “This is just the beginning.”
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