Hundreds of Zohrans
SMC Editorial Board Note: This piece is not an official caucus statement, but the opinion of the authors.
Zohran Mamdani’s election in New York City was a watershed moment for socialist electoral politics in the US and his administration will be one of our biggest tests. His insurgent victory demonstrates that DSA’s electoral success is bound not by our external conditions but by our own organizing: it’s on us to systematically and strategically grow our program.
The Zohran campaign injected new life to our electoral work, bringing a groundswell of campaigners and candidates who want to throw themselves into the fray. Unfortunately, hype alone cannot win campaigns, and we need to train organizers in methods that we’ve proven to work and help us win. This is a big risk we face: what if hundreds of campaigns are launched with the excitement of Zohran’s campaign, but without the skill and plan to win? What will we lose if our new electoral push flops? What will we gain if we can win hundreds of elections?
DSA can seize this opportunity by prioritizing and expediting an expansion of our electoral work. I introduced a resolution to the NPC that identified a few ways to do so:
Hire an additional electoral staffer ASAP to build capacity for campaign training, and supporting member-leaders.
Coordinate events with NYC-DSA leaders so they can teach the methods the Zohran campaign used to recruit 100,000 volunteers, knock 3 million doors, and win a million votes.
Run more regular trainings on campaign basics through the National Electoral Commission.
Expand the NEC’s fundraising apparatus with access to more contacts and communications.
While most of the resolution passed by unanimous consent, a crucial edit was made: the requirement to hire an electoral staffer was removed. I agreed to remove this to defer it to a holistic conversation on staffing, but DSA will not be able to properly take advantage of this moment of opportunity without more staff support for electoral work.
DSA has already passed its base budget for 2026 and there is still over $1.5 million in projected income we can allocate to organizing work. This income is mostly from monthly dues, which is a reliable and growing stream of income that can be used for sustained investments (as long as we continue our hard work on fundraising and growth!). In 2026, DSA should prioritize hiring the 2 electoral organizers we voted on at Convention ASAP, so we can meaningfully support chapters in turning their enthusiasm into real, durable socialist power.