The Road to American Socialism Runs Through California
Socialists have unique advantages in California, where a “jungle” primary system elevates the top two candidates to the general election regardless of party affiliation, and the Republican Party is moribund. Let’s take advantage of it.
Sheng Thao, the mayor-elect of Oakland, California, holding a campaign sign alongside supporters before the midterms. (@ShengForOakland / Twitter)
As California’s midterm election results are finalized, it’s clear that the Left has pulled together an impressive string of wins over the Democratic Party establishment.
San Franciscans passed numerous housing-related ballot measures championed by Supervisor Dean Preston, who is a member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Across the Bay, Oakland progressives are celebrating victory in Sheng Thao’s competitive mayoral race, while Alameda County’s new district attorney, civil rights lawyer Pamela Price, proclaims that she wants to end mass incarceration.
In multiple California cities, rent control won big. The number of DSA members on the fifteen-person Los Angeles City Council is set to increase from one to three. And democratic socialists will sit in two of Sacramento City Council’s nine seats.
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