January 1, Democrats Let Socialist Radicals Take Root in State Legislatures

Wyatt’s Take

• DSA-backed candidates are running for state legislature seats across the country with policies that scare regular Americans.
• Republicans warn these statehouse wins could be the first step to bigger offices and a more radical Democratic Party.
• Key issues like defunding police, taking over private utilities, and race-based reparations are front and center in these races.

Dozens of candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America are now on November ballots for state legislature seats. Republicans say these races are part of a bigger plan to push the Democratic Party further left.

At least 65 DSA-aligned candidates have made it to the general election. The Republican State Leadership Committee says these statehouse races could shape the future of the Democratic Party in a major way.

“The statehouse trend is also relevant because several prominent DSA-aligned Congressional candidates in 2026 have emerged from state and local political organizing,” the memo reads. “These victories demonstrate one potential progression: movement organizations can help develop candidates locally and at the state level, provide them with political experience and organizational networks, and eventually support campaigns for Congress.”

The memo goes on to explain why these state-level wins matter.

“The scale of that presence matters not only because DSA-aligned candidates could influence the direction of their state legislatures if elected, but because state legislative offices can provide a platform, governing experience, donor networks and organizational infrastructure for future campaigns for higher office,” it continues.

The RSLC counted candidates who are DSA members, endorsed by the group, or openly identify with the organization. Many of these candidates support policies that most swing voters reject, such as abolishing police departments, pushing extreme economic ideas, and demanding race-based reparations.

Opposition to traditional policing stands out among many of these candidates. Democratic State Sen. Jabari Brisport’s campaign website states his plan plainly.

“As a State Senator I will continue to do everything I can to end policing and incarceration in New York State,” Democratic State Sen. Jabari Brisport’s campaign website reads.

Brisport also wants to decriminalize prostitution, claiming it would keep communities safer. In Wisconsin, Democratic State Rep. Ryan Clancy has doubled down on his view that police work has “no dignity or value.”

“It means that American policing has always been bad and it always will be,” Clancy told a local outlet in 2023, alleging that American police forces have their roots in slave patrols. “It’s not like we can get back to this to the early days… American policing… [is] epically racist and classist because that’s a dead end. That is the point of American policing.”

Clancy later told Fox News Digital his comments were aimed at officers who abuse their power over sex workers, though his earlier remarks attacked policing as a whole. State Rep. Eleanor Chávez in New Mexico has called ICE “fascist” and compared agents to the KKK, drawing sharp criticism from Republicans who fear the rhetoric could incite violence against law enforcement.

Despite its focus on social issues, the DSA claims to be an economic organization. Some candidates are pushing radical economic changes. New York Democratic Assemblywoman Sarahana Shrestha wants the government to take over the privately held Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., possibly through eminent domain. Dylan Wegela in Michigan is pushing similar state takeovers of utility companies.

Shrestha agrees that DSA-aligned lawmakers could steer the Democratic Party leftward.

“The things DSA-aligned state lawmakers are fighting for are things that are extremely popular with voters, and have been for a long time,” she told Fox News Digital. “A majority of our constituents believe the energy sector should not be for profit, healthcare should be single-payer and universal, the government should play a positive role in building necessary infrastructure such as permanently affordable housing and public transit, and so on.”

Shrestha defends her utility takeover plan by pointing to a feasibility study that claims it would lower costs. Other DSA-backed lawmakers have clashed with mainstream Democratic priorities, like Maryland’s Gabriel Acevero, who opposed a marijuana legalization bill because it did not include reparations for communities harmed by the drug war.

Republicans see an opening by linking mainstream Democrats to these socialist ideas. A recent Fox News poll showed that 55% of registered voters hold an unfavorable view of the DSA. While some Democrats call this connection a campaign trick, party leadership has made concessions to its far-left wing.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer backed a more moderate candidate in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, but a Schumer-aligned super PAC later poured millions into supporting the progressive candidate in the general election. Estimates of DSA-backed state legislative candidates vary, with the RSLC identifying at least 65 in 24 states and the Brookings Institution counting 76.

Still, the group represents only a small fraction of state legislative seats nationwide. The RSLC memo makes clear the stakes.

“The RSLC has consistently said that socialism starts in the states and that is where we need to stop it,” the RSLC’s memo reads. “The DSA’s growing presence in statehouse races could have dangerous impacts for state policy in the short-term, and it reflects a clearly orchestrated long-term effort to build political power from the state-level up.”

Every state legislative candidate mentioned was reached for comment by Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

Wyatt Matters

Middle America knows that real change starts close to home, and voters in state races have the power to keep radical policies from spreading any further.