Socialist candidates in the Democratic Party are building strong momentum in two major mayoral elections across the country.
In New York City, state Rep. Zohran Mamdani beat out incumbent mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to win the party’s primary in June, and he continues to lead all candidates in the polls.
A similar dynamic is playing out in Minneapolis, where state Sen. Omar Fateh won the endorsement of his local Democratic Party over incumbent mayor Jacob Frey.
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The Wisconsin State Assembly’s Socialist Caucus is taking notice and looking to build off that success here.
State Rep. Darrin Madison of Milwaukee was one of two founding members of the caucus in 2023. It was the first time there had been a socialist caucus since 1931.
Madison told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that he sees a common theme among voters being unhappy with the current economic system.
“I think that for decades, if not more than that, communities have been directly impacted negatively by our capitalistic system, which prioritizes wealth over the needs of communities,” Madison said. “These elections that are happening around the country, with folks who are boldly acknowledging the harms of capitalism, is something that people haven’t seen in a long time, which opens communities up for a real dialog about how to move forward.”
Last year, state Rep. Francesca Hong joined the Assembly Socialist Caucus, which now has four members with Reps. Christian Phelps of Eau Claire and Ryan Clancy of Milwaukee, who founded the caucus with Madison.
Hong told “Wisconsin Today” that she thinks people are recognizing shared values in wanting more economic freedom.
“Communities have been telling us for years that they are working hard, and right now, corporations are being prioritized over working-class people,” Hong said. “This is what candidates like Mamdani and Fateh are speaking about. It definitely resonates with folks.”
One of the obstacles Wisconsin’s socialist movement faces is taking the socialist ideas that resonate in major cities and applying them to regions that don’t have such strong Democratic bases, like red areas of Wisconsin.
Hong thinks the divide isn’t urban versus rural, though. She sees working class people facing the same challenges regardless of zip code, so the goals should be the same, too.
Another obstacle is the negative connotation that the label “socialist” can carry, with concerns about government overreach or its association with communism. Polling in 2022 from the Pew Research Center found that only about a third of Americans have a favorable view of socialism, down from 42 percent in 2019. The same poll found that 57 percent had a favorable view of capitalism, which was down from 65 percent in 2019.
Madison is less worried about the demonization of the term and more concerned about promulgating the meaning behind the movement.
“I think that no matter how a person identifies in the Democratic caucus, whether it’s with socialism or their own identities, folks will weaponize that on the other side of the aisle to serve their own political agendas,” Madison said. “In a lot of cases, our government is not being a force for good, and socialism has a stated goal to make government a true force for good.”
That concept of political identities can be a sticking point for other Democrats, too.
Hong sees other lawmakers sharing socialist values but being reluctant to be labeled that way.
“It’s not so much a tension as it is that they aren’t sure yet if that’s what their communities want them to identify as,” Hong said. “I think, when we speak clearly to the working class values and the current needs of working class people, we’re speaking to the policies that are rooted in socialism.”
Whether they like the socialist label or not, supporters are showing up for candidates like Mamdani and Fateh.
Madison is optimistic about the buy-in from young voters leading the charge.
“You see young people engaging in politics in a way that they haven’t in a long time, taking ownership over what happens in their community,” Madison said. “These candidates who are running in both New York and in Minnesota are building a broad coalition, and they’re activating a new voter base that has been taking in these past elections from the couch.”
