Meet socialists on the road to Capitol Hill

A new wave of socialists wins In the recent Democratic primarysetting them on a path to Congress in deep blue districts but also causing potential trouble for the broader party.

These candidates, all affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, are expected to win in November, while other DSA-backed candidates in states such as Michigan and Missouri are still awaiting primaries.

These hopefuls tap into the rebellious energy among Democratic voters while also opening the door for Republicans to accuse Democrats of moving too far to the left and being untrustworthy in taking control of Congress.

The DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with prominent members including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The membership group, not a political party, works to promote policies such as universal health care and a wealth tax. After Mamdani announced her campaign in October 2024, membership nearly doubled to 100,000. Still, some prominent progressives, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, are not DSA members.

Here’s who the new candidates are, what they’re saying, and where they stand.

Kiros became a DSA member during the campaign, where she advocated for universal health and child care, Abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and an arms embargo against Israel.

Before entering politics, she practiced corporate law. Kiros joined Sidley Austin, one of the largest and most elite corporate law firms in the United States, as a full-time associate in 2022, but was fired after just over a year. Publish prose letters Thinking that questioning Israel’s legitimacy should not automatically be considered anti-Semitic.

In her article she criticized a signed letter More than 100 US law firms, including her own, have condemned “anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism and attacks on university campuses” following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel.

“We can’t wait to abolish ICE and provide health insurance for all,” Quiros said in his speech after her primary victory. “No, we will not wait to end the Palestinian genocide.”

Chris Raab, 56

Christopher M. Rabb is a current member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, having served in the House of Representatives since 2016. Raab defeated Pennsylvania Sen. Sharif Street and former Biden administration health official Ala Stanley in the May 19 Democratic primary, receiving more than 44% of the vote.

The congressman is known as one of the most progressive members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, pushing for the legalization of marijuana and the abolition of the death penalty.

Raab came to national attention in 2021 when he circulated a legislative memo requiring men to undergo vasectomy after having their third child or turning 40. The politician later clarified that it was “copycat legislation” meant to highlight the double standards governing women’s bodies.

Raab ran on a platform that included universal health care, publicly owned grocery stores, free public transportation, an end to U.S. military aid to Israel and Abolish ICE.

“Throughout this campaign I have been criticized for being too radical, for being too bold,” Raab said in his victory speech after the primary. “They didn’t see anything.”

Claire Valdez, 36

Claire Valdez is an artist and labor organizer who has served as a New York State Congresswoman since 2025. Valdez holds dual citizenship of the United States and the sovereign Native American nation of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in El Paso, Texas.

Valdez topped a four-candidate race with 56 percent of the vote for the seat left vacant by retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th Congressional District. The borough, made up of several young, college-educated, gentrifying neighborhoods in Queens and northern Brooklyn, was dubbed the “Communist Corridor” after it propelled Mamdani to election last year.

The longtime DSA member ran on a platform of abolishing ICE, solidarity with Palestinians and affordability, while advocating for universal health care, a four-day work week and rent control.

“United forever. Abolish ICE. Free Palestine. Organize your coalition and join DSA,” Valdez said in his victory speech After the main.

Valdez was arrested twice during protests in 2025, once at the office buildings of Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand over their votes on Israeli arms sales, and a month later during a sit-in at an ICE detention center in Manhattan.

Daria Lisa Avila Chevalier, 32

PhD student and activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, commonly known as “DAC,” is the daughter of Dominican immigrants. this first time candidate Defeated progressive Democrat Adriano Espaillat, a Dominican-American, in the June primary. Espelat has represented New York’s 13th Congressional District, which covers parts of upper Manhattan and the northwest Bronx, for nearly a decade.

Avila Chevalier will join DSA in 2025. Her agenda centers on government-funded health care, tenant protections, abolishing ICE, ending U.S. aid to Israel and banning congressional stock trading.

Much of the controversy surrounding the activist stems from her involvement in pro-Palestinian encampment protests at her alma mater, Columbia University, and posts from a now-deleted account.

Tweets from 2020 and 2021 show her labeling President Joe Bidenrapist“post”f——Kamala Harris” and calls COVID-19 “European Plague”, attributing its origin to France. Avila Chevalier has since stated that although she express regret over tweetshe deleted the account to take a break from social media, not because of her campaign.

“Even though the agency machine has done everything it can to prevent our community from having a seat at the table, well, I have some bad news for them. We brought folding chairs,” Avila Chevalier says That night in her elementary school.

Write to Maya Davis: maya.davis@wsj.com