Socialists’ highest-profile victories in the recent election cycle were scored in blue coastal cities in blue states: Zohran Mamdani’s and Katie Wilson’s campaigns for mayor of New York City and Seattle, respectively. But candidates backed by Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) made inroads across the country last November, including in the South and the Midwest.

The socialist left looks to be keeping up its momentum. Francesca Hong, a Wisconsin state representative and the DSA-endorsed candidate for governor, has a real shot at winning the Democratic primary for the position. In New York State, socialists are hoping to send former United Auto Workers (UAW) organizer Claire Valdez to Congress and grow its already sizable bench in the state legislature. And DSA is backing a number of other races at the state and municipal levels across the United States.

That includes the campaign of Robert LeVertis Bell, a longtime socialist organizer and public school teacher who is running to represent Louisville’s 43rd District in the Kentucky House of Representatives. Jacobin spoke to Bell about his election, how growing up in Louisville shaped his politics, and how he thinks of his potential role as a socialist legislator in a red state.