Wednesday’s election results held no shortage of surprises, as the Democratic Party shocked itself with a successful showing that defied dismal poll numbers for President Joe Biden. But one pattern has continued to hold over the past half-decade or so of US elections and was again proven true this week: regardless of the two-party to-and-fro that structures US politics, socialist candidates continue to win elections and expand their presence in the country’s elected bodies, while broadly left-wing policies continue to find favor among voters.

Twelve of the nineteen candidates and ballot measures endorsed by Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) at the national level, or 63 percent, were victorious last Wednesday, with one election still too close to call. When taking into account the total number of candidates given the thumb’s up by all DSA chapters at the state and local levels, as well as DSA members who ran and won without the organization’s endorsement, forty-six candidates won their races (two of whom were nonmembers). As of Monday, there were fourteen losses and three are yet to be decided, resulting in a success rate of 77 percent and a net gain of eleven seats.