Ahead of a challenging midterm election cycle, Republicans have adopted a strategy of labeling progressive Democrats as extremists, particularly after recent victories in Democratic congressional primaries in New York and Colorado. GOP leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and former President Donald Trump, have invoked the term ‘communists,’ drawing parallels to Cold War-era warnings from figures like Sen. Joseph McCarthy and President Richard Nixon.
House Speaker Mike Johnson stated on July 5, “Now the barbarians are inside the gate,” adding, “So this election is for all the marbles.” Former President Trump has also escalated these attacks, describing the candidates as “hardcore, godless communists” at a June 26 conference and calling them “the most serious threat to our country since its existence.” Trump also addressed communism during his July 4 speech commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Democratic socialists and academic experts counter that their ideology is distinct from communism. They define it as a belief system advocating for an economy managed for the public’s benefit through democratic decision-making, with the government playing an active role in expanding public services like housing and healthcare. Susan Kang, an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a member of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, explained, “We want things that challenge the way capitalism distributes things. It’s never done by force. It’s never done by violence. It’s never done through tricks. It’s always done because we’ve gained majoritarian support.”
Democratic socialists have achieved recent successes in liberal urban areas. In 2025, Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, and Katie Wilson won the mayoral race in Seattle. This June, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier secured congressional primary victories in New York City, Melat Kiros won in Denver, and Janeese Lewis-George won the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, D.C. In these strongly Democratic districts, primary wins are often equivalent to general election victories.
These candidates have largely campaigned on addressing affordability through policies such as “Medicare for All.” They have also advocated for abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and ending U.S. support for Israel, citing civilian casualties in Gaza and Iran. Kang emphasized, “We want to push these ideas within the existing political institutions of the United States.”
The national Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) website states its belief that capitalism should be replaced by “a system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and society,” explicitly rejecting “authoritarian visions of socialism.” This contrasts with the vision of communism, as outlined by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, which envisions a classless, stateless society, often associated in the American public mind with totalitarian regimes like the former Soviet Union and North Korea.
While some DSA chapters include members with Marxist-Leninist or Maoist affiliations, such as the Red Star Caucus, Max Sawicky, an economist and writer and a DSA member, described them as a fringe group with limited electoral success. However, the DSA has influenced some policy stances, opposing American military aid to Ukraine and sending a delegation to support Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Sawicky noted that successful DSA chapters have demonstrated effective campaign operations, contributing to the organization’s growth from 5,000 members in 2017 to over 100,000 in 2026.
Younger generations are more inclined to embrace socialism than older voters who experienced the Cold War, for whom the term may evoke images of impoverished, restrictive societies. Democratic socialists often point to Scandinavian and Western European countries with democratic systems that implement socialist policies like universal healthcare and higher wages. A July 4 survey by Morning Consult and the Cato Institute indicated that 53% of Gen Z respondents viewed socialism favorably, compared to 27% of Boomers. Concurrently, a 2025 Gallup survey showed 54% of Americans view capitalism favorably, a decline from 60% in 2021.
Kang suggested that Americans’ concerns about the rising costs of groceries and housing, compared to previous generations, contribute to the appeal of these policies. “These are the things that the candidates are running on, these are things that people care about,” he told USA TODAY. “They’re not necessarily about either democracy or socialism, but as part of that sort of bundle of left policies that people are now associating with these terms.”
Modern American democratic socialism is often associated with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, who nearly won the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, also provided a model for challenging the establishment by defeating Rep. Joe Crowley in 2018. Other prominent figures include Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan, and former representatives Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, though Bowman and Bush lost their seats in 2024 Democratic primaries.
Recent congressional wins for democratic socialists include those in New York City and Philadelphia, where Chris Rabb won an open congressional seat. Melat Kiros also unseated Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colorado, in Denver. Despite these gains, the number of democratic socialists in the House of Representatives remains small, and they have not yet demonstrated success in swing districts.
Some moderate and centrist Democrats express concern that the rise of farther-left candidates, even in safe Democratic districts, could negatively impact the party’s nominees in key swing states. Jim Kessler, co-founder of the think tank Third Way, warned, “If they become the face of the Democratic Party, we get hammered in a presidential election,” adding that “most of the country thinks” ideas like abolishing ICE are “insane.”
A White House spokeswoman, Olivia Wales, stated, “President Trump will keep calling out their radicalism and draw a sharp contrast with his commonsense, America First agenda.” Some mainstream Democrats, however, have shown willingness to embrace democratic socialists after primary victories. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, acknowledged the diversity within the Democratic caucus, stating that most members are focused on opposing “MAGA extremism” and improving life for their constituents.
Republicans often disregard this ideological diversity when labeling opponents as socialists or communists. However, it remains uncertain whether these labels will retain their potency with swing voters. Sawicky commented, “They’ve really overused the word socialism to describe anything they don’t like,” concluding, “if everything’s socialism, then nothing is.”
“Ronald Reagan used to warn about communism,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, recently said on “Fox News Sunday,” referring to the late Republican president who confronted the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Contributing: Phillip Bailey and Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY
