DSA
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States, comprising a network of chapters that pursue democratic socialism through grassroots activism, labor organizing, and electoral involvement aimed at curbing corporate influence and expanding worker control over economic and social institutions.[1] Established in 1982 via the merger of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee and the New American Movement, DSA maintained a membership of several thousand for decades before experiencing explosive growth following the 2016 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, expanding from approximately 6,000 members in 2015 to a peak exceeding 90,000 by 2019 as disillusionment with economic inequality drew in younger activists.[2][3] The organization prioritizes reforms such as Medicare for All, public ownership of key industries, and aggressive climate action under frameworks like the Green New Deal, while endorsing candidates to infiltrate and shift the Democratic Party leftward; notable successes include the 2018 election of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress and support for other members of the informal "Squad," which amplified demands for wealth redistribution and anti-imperialist policies within mainstream politics.[4][5] However, DSA's electoral impact has proven uneven, with many endorsed candidates faltering in primaries—such as the 2024 defeat of Representative Jamaal Bowman—and overall win rates remaining low despite ideological sway, prompting critiques that the group prioritizes purity over pragmatic coalition-building.[5][3] Controversies have intensified scrutiny, particularly over DSA's endorsement of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign against Israel, which has been linked by watchdogs to antisemitic rhetoric within chapters, alongside positions advocating "defund the police" that alienated broader electorates and contributed to membership dips to around 70,000 by the mid-2020s amid post-2020 internal fractures and external pushback.[6][5][7] Recent recruitment upticks following the 2024 election underscore DSA's resilience in mobilizing against perceived authoritarian threats, yet persistent challenges in sustaining mass appeal highlight tensions between its anti-capitalist vision and the realities of operating within a two-party system dominated by centrist institutions.[8][9]History
Founding and early development (1982–2000)
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) was established in March 1982 through the merger of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC), founded in 1973, and the New American Movement (NAM), founded in 1971, at a unity convention in Detroit.[2] The merger aimed to unite democratic socialists committed to reforming the Democratic Party and building coalitions with labor unions, feminists, and civil rights activists, under the vision of Michael Harrington, who became the organization's first national chair.[2] At founding, DSA had approximately 6,000 members, combining around 5,000 from DSOC and 1,000 from NAM.[2] Harrington, a prominent socialist author and former Socialist Party member, led DSA until his death from esophageal cancer on July 31, 1989, emphasizing internal debate, anti-communism, and electoral strategies within the Democratic Party.[10] Early activities focused on linking with trade unions and progressive movements amid the Reagan administration's conservative policies, including support for Walter Mondale's 1984 presidential campaign and opposition to U.S. interventions abroad.[2] By 1983, membership grew to 8,000, reflecting initial momentum from the merger, though the 1980s proved challenging due to the broader left's defensive posture against neoliberal economics and rightward political shifts.[2] In the late 1980s, DSA engaged in solidarity campaigns, such as support for the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, leftist rebels in El Salvador, and anti-apartheid efforts in South Africa.[11] The organization endorsed Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential bid through the Rainbow Coalition, highlighting its strategy of influencing Democratic primaries.[2] Internal ideological tensions arose during merger discussions over issues like communism and Middle East policy, but DSA maintained a non-sectarian stance prioritizing democratic reforms.[2] Entering the 1990s, DSA shifted emphasis to domestic issues like universal healthcare advocacy under the "Medicare for All" banner and resistance to neoliberal globalization, culminating in the 1995 adoption of the "Where We Stand" document, which updated founding principles from 1982.[2][12] Membership expanded modestly from 7,000 to a peak of 10,000 in the early 1990s, driven by coalitions like the Democratic Agenda and Justice for All rallies, before stabilizing amid the Clinton-era Democratic centrism and the left's overall marginalization.[2][13] By 2000, DSA operated with a decentralized structure of local chapters, focusing on education, labor organizing, and critiques of corporate power, though it faced ongoing challenges from declining union density and ideological fragmentation.[2]Period of stagnation and decline (2000–2015)
During the early 2000s, the Democratic Socialists of America maintained a small national footprint, with approximately 7,000 members and around 15 local chapters as of circa 2000.[14] Membership remained largely stagnant throughout the period, hovering at about 6,000 to 6,500 by 2012 and 2014, reflecting limited recruitment and organizational growth amid broader declines in left-wing activism following the end of the Cold War and the perceived irrelevance of socialist organizing in a post-9/11 political landscape dominated by national security concerns.[2] [15] DSA's primary activities centered on opposition to U.S. military interventions, particularly the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan launched after September 11, 2001, with its youth arm, Young Democratic Socialists, participating in anti-war protests; however, these efforts struggled to influence public opinion once ground troops were deployed, contributing to organizational frustration and minimal membership gains.[2] Under the George W. Bush administration, DSA developed an Economic Justice Agenda advocating for progressive taxation, universal social welfare programs, and public investments in renewable energy and transit infrastructure, while post-2008 financial crisis involvement included joining the Occupy Wall Street protests in fall 2011 and campaigns for living wages and pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.[2] Additional initiatives encompassed a national student debt campaign that gradually elevated the issue in public discourse and the Socialist-Feminist Working Group's bowl-a-thons, which raised tens of thousands of dollars for abortion funds.[2] Internal dynamics highlighted stagnation, with conventions drawing only about 100 delegates in 2011 and 2013, an aging core of New Left veterans from the 1960s-1970s, and a paucity of members in the 25-60 age bracket, though the revival of Young Democratic Socialists activity from 2006 spurred some chapter-level engagement.[2] By the mid-2010s, national conventions in 2013 and 2015 shifted emphasis toward racial justice, including support for the emerging Black Lives Matter movement and efforts against mass incarceration, yet these did not reverse the overall plateau in membership or influence.[2] The organization's strategy of working within the Democratic Party, coupled with the decline of labor unions—a key historical base—and competition from more activist-oriented groups like the International Socialist Organization, limited its appeal and electoral impact, as DSA endorsed few candidates and achieved negligible public office wins during this era.[15][16]Resurgence and radicalization (2016–2020)
The Democratic Socialists of America experienced rapid membership expansion beginning in 2016, driven primarily by Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign, which DSA endorsed despite its historical reluctance to back Democratic Party candidates. Prior to 2016, DSA membership hovered around 6,000; following the endorsement and Sanders' primary performance, it surged to approximately 10,000 by mid-year. The election of Donald Trump on November 8, 2016, catalyzed further growth, with over 13,000 new membership applications in the immediate aftermath, pushing totals to around 25,000 by the time of the 2017 national convention.[3][17] This influx reflected broader disillusionment with establishment politics and attraction to Sanders' democratic socialist rhetoric, though many new members lacked prior organizing experience, leading to internal debates over strategy and priorities. At the August 2017 convention in Chicago, attended by nearly 700 delegates representing the expanded base, DSA adopted resolutions emphasizing anti-capitalist education, labor organizing, and caucus formation for marginalized groups, including an Afro-Socialist and Socialists of Color caucus. These moves signaled a leftward shift, prioritizing grassroots activism over incremental reforms and rejecting uncritical Democratic alliances. Membership continued climbing, reaching about 55,000 by the 2019 convention.[17][18][19] Electoral breakthroughs in the 2018 midterms amplified DSA's visibility and reinforced its resurgence. DSA-endorsed candidates, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), won seats in the U.S. House of Representatives—the organization's first federal victories—along with state-level successes such as Julia Salazar's New York Senate win. Over 20 DSA-backed candidates secured office nationwide, often by defeating Democratic incumbents in primaries through aggressive grassroots campaigns focused on Medicare for All, [Green New Deal](/page/Green_New Deal) policies, and opposition to corporate influence. These outcomes, achieved with minimal institutional support from the Democratic Party, validated DSA's insurgent approach but also highlighted tensions with party moderates.[20][21][22] Signs of radicalization emerged prominently at the 2019 convention in Atlanta, where over 1,000 delegates approved resolutions endorsing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, committing to oppose U.S. military aid to Israel, and restricting endorsements to candidates refusing corporate PAC money while supporting Medicare for All. The platform also intensified anti-imperialist stances, featuring international speakers from conflict zones like Palestine and Venezuela, and prioritized "class struggle" tactics such as workplace organizing and protests over electoral pragmatism. Internal factions, including the rise of more revolutionary-oriented groups, pushed DSA toward explicit rejection of capitalism and Democratic Party loyalty, contrasting with earlier reformist elements. By 2020, amid Sanders' second campaign and nationwide Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd's death on May 25, DSA chapters mobilized for demands like police abolition and rent strikes, further entrenching militant positions that alienated some moderate recruits but solidified its identity as a vanguard socialist force.[23][24][25]Developments in the 2020s and post-2024 election growth
In the early 2020s, DSA membership, which had peaked at approximately 79,000 dues-paying members in 2021 following surges tied to the Bernie Sanders campaigns, began a gradual decline amid internal debates and external political pressures, reaching about 51,000 by October 2024.[9] The organization shifted emphasis toward local electoral contests and ballot initiatives, achieving successes such as the passage of a $20.29 per hour minimum wage in Renton, Washington, with 58% voter approval in February 2024, supported by Seattle and South King County chapters.[26] Other wins included Young DSA member Marek Broderick's election to Burlington, Vermont's City Council with 57.19% in March 2024 and Coby Owens's narrow victory for Wilmington, Delaware's City Council in September 2024.[26] DSA's 2024 national electoral efforts yielded mixed results, with endorsements for candidates like state assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha's primary win in New York (two-thirds vote) and Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman's reelection (50.6%), alongside advancements like Ysabel Jurado's runoff qualification (24.5%).[26] However, high-profile setbacks, including the primary defeat of U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman, drew criticism for DSA's association with controversial stances on Israel-Palestine, contributing to perceptions of organizational strain.[3] Following Donald Trump's victory in the November 2024 presidential election, DSA attributed the outcome to the Democratic Party's alignment with corporate interests, failure to address working-class concerns, and support for policies like the Gaza conflict, which alienated key voter blocs.[27] Post-election, DSA reported a surge in recruitment, with new member admissions in early 2025 reaching the highest levels in recent history—exceeding the combined growth of five prior quarters—and application volumes not seen since the previous national convention.[28] This influx, attributed by the organization to heightened opposition to Trump's agenda among youth and workers, prompted internal reforms; in March 2025, the National Political Committee amended bylaws to restructure the Growth and Development Committee, aiming to reduce barriers to national organizing, improve transparency, and expand resources like orientations, trainings, and data reports.[28] DSA outlined strategies including strikes, civil disobedience, and building an independent working-class party, while highlighting reelections like U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib's and first-time socialist victories such as Gabriel Sanchez in Georgia and JP Lyninger in Louisville, Kentucky.[27] By mid-2025, these efforts coincided with increased chapter activity and a focus on local power-building against anticipated federal policies on immigration, labor, and civil rights.[29]Ideology and Positions
Core principles of democratic socialism
Democratic socialism, as articulated by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), seeks to supplant capitalism with a system emphasizing collective ownership and democratic participation in economic and social life, achieved through mass movements and electoral reforms rather than authoritarian imposition or violent revolution.[4][30] DSA defines it as a framework where ordinary people exercise real control over workplaces, communities, and broader society, rejecting the private profit motive that perpetuates alienated labor, vast wealth disparities, racial and gender-based discrimination, and environmental degradation.[30] This vision prioritizes expanding democracy into the economic sphere, contrasting with social democracy's acceptance of capitalist markets tempered by welfare measures, and authoritarian socialism's centralization of power.[4][12] At its economic core, democratic socialism advocates public or worker ownership of major industries and resources, such as energy production, transportation, and key workplaces, to align production with social needs rather than profit.[4] DSA envisions democratic planning combined with regulated market mechanisms to ensure equitable distribution, meaningful employment, and a sustainable environment, while curtailing corporate dominance in politics and economics.[12] Reforms like universal healthcare (e.g., Medicare for All) and a Green New Deal serve as transitional steps to build working-class power and dismantle capitalist structures, fostering worker self-management and community control.[4] Social principles emphasize solidarity across racial, gender, and class lines to eradicate systemic oppressions, integrating anti-racism, feminism, and non-exploitative relations into the socialist project.[30][12] DSA rejects hierarchies based on identity or wealth, aiming for a society where individual liberty flourishes through collective equality and mutual aid, countering capitalism's tendency to exacerbate divisions.[12] Politically, the approach relies on constructing a broad majority coalition that recognizes class conflict between elites and the working majority, pursuing democratic socialism via grassroots organizing, labor unions, and progressive legislation rather than vanguard parties or state seizures.[30] Internationally, it promotes global solidarity among workers and movements to elevate living standards worldwide, opposing corporate-led globalization and advocating cooperative economic institutions that prioritize human needs over exploitation.[12]Economic and labor policies
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) advocate for replacing capitalism with democratic socialism, under which working people would democratically control major economic sectors such as energy production and transportation to prioritize human needs over private profits.[4] This vision entails expanding democratic decision-making into workplaces and society at large, rejecting both authoritarian socialism and the concessions of traditional social democracy, while pursuing reforms like the Green New Deal to transition toward worker-led economic structures.[4] DSA's economic policies emphasize public ownership and investment in key industries to decommodify essentials and reduce inequality. In its 2024 program, the organization calls for massive public investments via the Green New Deal to phase out fossil fuels, including public ownership of transportation, energy infrastructure, and natural resources, alongside job guarantees and support for displaced fossil fuel workers.[31] Additional proposals include a 32-hour workweek without reductions in pay or benefits to improve work-life balance and productivity under worker control.[31] The group critiques corporate-dominated markets for perpetuating exploitation and environmental harm, pushing instead for an economy directed by the working class to curb corporate influence and prioritize communities over profits.[32] On labor policies, DSA prioritizes building union power as a cornerstone of class struggle, viewing strong unions as essential for countering capitalist suppression and advancing socialist goals.[33] Through its National Labor Commission, DSA supports rank-and-file organizing, strike solidarity, and worker education, encouraging members to join unions, participate in labor actions, and challenge employer power from within workplaces.[33] Specific demands include protecting all workers' rights to strike and organize, streamlining union formation processes, repealing restrictions like right-to-work laws, and increasing funding for the National Labor Relations Board to enforce labor protections.[31] The organization has mobilized for high-profile strikes, such as those at universities and Amazon facilities in 2024, framing labor militancy as a pathway to broader economic democracy.[34] DSA also advocates for policies addressing deunionization trends, including opposition to trade deals favoring corporations and automation that displaces union jobs without worker input.[35]Foreign policy stances
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) advocates a foreign policy framework centered on anti-imperialism, international working-class solidarity, and opposition to U.S. military hegemony, emphasizing diplomacy over intervention and the redirection of military spending toward domestic social needs.[36] The organization criticizes both major U.S. political parties for perpetuating corporate-driven wars and calls for closing overseas military bases, ending arms sales abroad, and withdrawing from alliances like NATO, which DSA views as mechanisms of expansionist imperialism that provoke conflicts.[37] In its 2024 program, DSA demands freedom of movement for workers across borders, including demilitarizing U.S. frontiers, ending immigrant detentions and deportations, and granting amnesty to all immigrants with access to jobs and services.[36] On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, DSA demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, termination of all U.S. military and economic aid to Israel, and respect for rulings by the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, framing Israel's actions as occupation, apartheid, and genocide while supporting Palestinian self-determination and sovereignty.[36] [38] The group endorses boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel and, in resolutions passed at its 2025 convention, deems support for Israel's right to self-defense an expellable offense for members, rejecting ceasefires that do not dismantle the occupation.[39] [40] DSA has also condemned U.S. and Israeli hostilities in Yemen and West Asia, calling for cessation of U.S. attacks and diplomatic normalization with nations resisting perceived U.S. imperialism, such as Iran.[41] Regarding Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, DSA condemned the action as illegal under the UN Charter, demanding an immediate Russian withdrawal, ceasefire, and de-escalation through diplomacy while expressing solidarity with antiwar movements in both Ukraine and Russia.[42] However, the organization attributes partial causation to NATO's eastward expansion and U.S. policies, urging American withdrawal from the alliance to prevent further escalation and prioritizing class struggle over militarized responses.[42] In Latin America, DSA supports normalization of relations with Cuba, opposing the U.S. economic blockade and sanctions as imperialist measures, and maintains a Cuba Solidarity Working Group to foster ties with Cuban people.[43] The group has condemned U.S. military actions against Venezuela, such as alleged 2025 strikes under the Trump administration that killed 21 individuals labeled as narcoterrorists, framing them as aggression against sovereign resistance to U.S. dominance.[44] DSA's stance on China and Taiwan emphasizes opposition to U.S. provocations in the region, critiquing American schemes that treat Taiwan as a proxy while acknowledging discrepancies in Taiwanese governance from U.S. interests, though internal debates highlight tensions between anti-imperial solidarity and rejection of authoritarianism.[45] Broader decolonization efforts include demands for releasing political prisoners resisting U.S. imperialism and building alliances with global anti-imperial movements.[46]Social and cultural issues
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) advocates for expansive reproductive rights, framing abortion access as a fundamental human right integrated into broader demands for single-payer healthcare and socialist feminist policies. In response to the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, DSA chapters mobilized to raise funds for abortion access and called for federal legislation to codify abortion protections, including repealing the Senate filibuster if necessary.[47] The organization rejects restrictions on abortion, endorsing "free abortion on demand without apology" and linking reproductive justice to opposition against far-right encroachments on bodily autonomy.[48] DSA's positions emphasize comprehensive reproductive care, including birth control, as part of universal healthcare, while critiquing liberal "choice" frameworks in favor of unconditional access for all.[49] On LGBTQ issues, DSA supports legal and social protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex individuals, including access to gender-aligned facilities in schools and opposition to discriminatory parenting laws. The organization condemns state-level bans on transgender youth healthcare and sports participation, as seen in statements against 2021 legislation in Arkansas and similar measures in over 26 states.[50] DSA endorses trans liberation as integral to dismantling oppressions, advocating for safe, bias-free public schools and full inclusion in events and activities for LGBTQ students.[51] These stances align with broader goals of challenging cultural barriers to equality, though DSA frames them within a socialist critique of capitalism's role in perpetuating divisions by race, gender, and sexuality.[52] DSA's approach to racial justice emphasizes anti-racism as essential to socialist organizing, viewing racism as intertwined with capitalism and state violence. The organization has produced theoretical works on racism's structural roots and supports movements addressing historical injustices, such as state responses to events like Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which disproportionately harmed Black communities.[53] In policing, DSA promotes "defund the police" as policy, rejecting budget expansions and advocating annual cuts toward zero funding, alongside ending the criminalization of poverty and survival economies.[54] This includes local campaigns, like efforts in Washington, D.C., to reduce Metropolitan Police Department budgets in solidarity with Black-led racial justice groups, positioning police abolition as a step toward community-based alternatives.[55] DSA critiques police unions as barriers to reform, linking them to "racial capitalism" that sustains inequality.[56] Regarding immigration, DSA opposes border militarization, family separations, and deportations, calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and open borders to facilitate international worker solidarity. The organization demands halting raids, demilitarizing borders, and promoting family reunification, viewing restrictive policies as tools to divide the working class.[57] In 2024, DSA reiterated commitments to ending the jailing and impoverishment of migrants, framing immigration enforcement as a misallocation of resources away from public needs.[58] Local chapters, such as in Jersey City, have mobilized against ICE operations, asserting that "no person is illegal" in alignment with immigrant rights coalitions.[59] These positions prioritize worker organizing across borders over national enforcement mechanisms.[60]Organizational Structure
National leadership and governance
The national leadership of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is primarily exercised by the National Political Committee (NPC), a body that functions as the organization's executive board of directors and highest decision-making authority between biennial national conventions.[61][30] Comprising 25 elected members plus two representatives from the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) youth section, the NPC oversees political strategy, organizational goals, staff hiring and management, financial operations, chartering of local chapters, and implementation of convention priorities.[61][30] Members are elected for two-year terms via preferential ballot by delegates at the national convention, with compositional quotas limiting cisgender men to no more than 13 seats and requiring at least eight from marginalized racial or ethnic groups to promote diversity.[30] The NPC convenes at least four times annually, typically over long weekends, to deliberate and vote on these matters.[30] From its ranks, the NPC selects a six-member Steering Committee (plus one YDSA representative) to coordinate activities and make interim decisions when the full body is not in session, requiring a quorum of over 50% for NPC meetings.[30] The Steering Committee includes two co-chairs, a treasurer, and a corresponding secretary, who serve as the most publicly visible national officers. Following the 2025 national convention, the co-chairs are Ashik Siddique and Megan Romer, who lead the NPC's steering efforts and represent DSA in external engagements.[61] Vacancies on the NPC are filled internally by the committee itself until the next convention.[30] The DSA National Convention, convened every two years as the paramount governing body, elects the NPC, adopts binding resolutions on policy and structure, reviews financial reports, and handles appeals from lower bodies.[30] The 2025 convention, held August 8–10 in Chicago, marked an expansion of the NPC from 16 to 25 members via constitutional amendment, reflecting efforts to broaden representation amid organizational growth.[61][62] Delegation allocation follows a one-member-one-vote principle based on dues-paying membership four months prior, with each chapter guaranteed at least one delegate and voting conducted proportionally within chapters.[30] Special conventions may be called by a three-quarters NPC vote or petitions from two-thirds of chapters or membership.[30] This structure underscores DSA's commitment to internal democracy, though implementation has involved factional competitions during elections, as seen in caucus-based slates contesting NPC seats.[61]Local chapters and internal caucuses
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) organizes primarily through local chapters, which serve as autonomous units responsible for grassroots activism, member education, and implementation of national priorities at the community level. These chapters are chartered by the National Political Committee (NPC) and elect delegates to the biennial national convention proportional to their membership size, enabling local input into organizational policy.[61] As of October 2025, DSA maintains chapters in all 50 states, with over 200 local chapters nationwide conducting activities such as electoral endorsements, labor organizing, and protests.[63] [64] New chapters typically begin as pre-organizing committees, requiring a minimum of 10 committed members to petition for recognition before advancing to full status after demonstrating sustained activity.[65] Larger chapters, such as New York City DSA and Chicago DSA, have developed internal subdivisions including branches, working groups, and committees to manage specialized campaigns on issues like housing, labor rights, and mutual aid.[66] [67] For instance, chapters often form labor branches to support union drives and strikes, reflecting DSA's emphasis on worker organizing. The youth section, Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), operates separately with over 100 campus chapters focused on student-led initiatives.[6] Complementing the formal chapter structure, DSA features informal internal caucuses—subgroups of members united by shared ideological perspectives, organizing strategies, or policy priorities—that compete for influence through endorsements, resolutions, and slates in NPC and convention elections.[68] These caucuses emerged prominently after DSA's post-2016 membership surge, facilitating debates on tactics ranging from electoralism to direct action.[69] Key caucuses include:- Bread & Roses: A Marxist-oriented group advocating class-struggle approaches, workplace organizing, and opposition to compromise with capitalist institutions; it has influenced resolutions on labor militancy and international solidarity.[70]
- Libertarian Socialist Caucus: Emphasizes anarchist principles, decentralized mutual aid, and anti-authoritarian tactics, often critiquing hierarchical structures within DSA itself.[68]
- Marxist Unity Group (MUG): Focuses on building Marxist theory and cadre development, prioritizing long-term revolutionary strategy over immediate reforms.[70]
- Red Star: Promotes militant socialism with an emphasis on anti-imperialism and working-class independence from Democratic Party entanglements.[70]
- Spring Caucus: Supports pragmatic electoral strategies and coalition-building, drawing from earlier factions like Momentum to advance socialist candidates within existing political systems.[71]