Today Kempa sits down with The Drain's chief Mamdanistan correspondent, Peter Lucas, to discuss the wave of astounding political victories that New York's democratic socialists and their lefty union allies enjoyed over the Democratic establishment in last week's primary elections.

The Democratic Socialists of America celebrated a gentleman's sweep of their endorsed candidates last Tuesday, leaving Democratic leadership scrambling to shift blame off themselves and onto their voter base, and establishment members of Congress fighting off anxieties over the precarity of their own seats (free link).

As I publish, DSA's New York chapter has added over 600 members to their ranks since election night, putting the national organization on the verge of becoming the largest socialist political organization in America's 250-year history (edging out Eugene Debs' Socialist Party of America, which had nearly 120,000 members at its apex).

We discuss the organizing that led to a week of jaw-dropping electoral victories, examine how the Socialists In Office Project is working to stop the "Pelosification" of DSA-backed officials, and walk through some of the biggest races from last week:

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old self-described communist who once tweeted "Fuck Kamala Harris," took out longtime Democratic incumbent and head of the Congressional Latino Caucus, Adriano Espaillat, in New York's 13th congressional district.
Progressive Brad Lander (who is no longer a member of DSA) ousted incumbent Dan Goldman in New York's 10th, after scouring Goldman over his support of AIPAC and his refusal to acknowledge the genocide in Gaza. This race carries a very important lesson for politicians on what unions such as the United Auto Workers expect of their elected officials.
Claire Valdez, with DSA and UAW support, narrowly defeated progressive Antonio Reynoso in New York's seventh district, despite Reynoso's backing from the Working Families Party and a slew of old-guard labor unions.

We also touch on three state legislature races that included candidates interviewed by Peter in Jacobin: Samantha Kattan, Aber Kawas, and Conrad Blackburn.

But don't rest on your laurels, 'cause the Wet Hot Socialist Summer isn't over yet. We let our listeners know about a few incredibly important races coming up with DSA-backed candidates throughout the country, including Melat Kiros's run for Congress in Colorado, Abdul El-Sayed's push to be Michigan's next U.S. Senator, and Francesca Hong's exciting bid to be the next governor of Wisconsin.

Want to be a part of all the winning? Consider joining DSA and helping to make it the largest socialist organization this country has ever seen.

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