The DSA’s Hostile Takeover of the Democratic Party
The most radical wing of the left is running roughshod over more moderate incumbents. And the wedge it’s using is Israel.
Josh Kantrow | June 28, 2026
The New York primary results should concern every Democrat who still cares about the party’s future.
The Democratic Socialists of America have achieved a major victory. Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s chosen candidates won all three competitive congressional primaries. Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated five-term congressman Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th district. Claire Valdez won easily in New York’s 7th district. And Brad Lander, who was endorsed by Mamdani, beat incumbent Dan Goldman in New York’s 10th district. DSA also picked up at least six seats in the state Legislature, giving them the second largest socialist bloc in any state Legislature in American history, behind only Wisconsin in 1919.
This is a hostile takeover, and Israel is the weapon being used to drive it.
The DSA’s litmus test for endorsement includes explicit rejection of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, the standard adopted by the State Department, dozens of countries, and leading Jewish organizations worldwide. AOC reaffirmed on a DSA endorsement call that she will never vote to fund Israel’s defense, including the Iron Dome. Mamdani’s first act in office was revoking his predecessor’s executive order adopting the IHRA definition. Running against AIPAC has become the left’s primary mobilization tool, and moderates like Goldman and Espaillat paid the price for taking pro-Israel money.
Goldman said it himself before losing: Demonizing AIPAC the way the DSA does fuels antisemitism. He’s right. Treating Jewish political advocacy as uniquely corrupting, as something to be purged from the Democrat party, while every other organized interest group gets a pass, is not campaign finance reform. It is targeting Jews.
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https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/06/the-dsa-s-hostile-takeover-of-the-democratic-party/
