Yesterday, five states held primary elections — and socialists won their races in three of them. In Colorado, Illinois, and New York, a total of ten socialists won their primary races, joining Zachary Parker, who won his primary for the Council of the District of Columbia last week. Socialists sustained losses, too, with several candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in New York and one in Denver so far unsuccessful in securing the nomination — though vote totals are still rolling in.

Electoral organizing is one of the predominant tactics of modern American socialist organizing, making last night’s primaries a good temperature check on the movement’s strength. Despite concerns about flagging enthusiasm for left politics in the wake of Bernie Sanders’s unsuccessful 2020 primary campaign, yesterday’s victories suggest that the socialist electoral game remains moderately strong, with incumbents outperforming insurgents.