We Need a Left-Labor Presidential Candidate
Beating Donald Trump isn’t enough, argue the Democratic Socialists of America’s cochairs. A united left-labor campaign in 2028 could mobilize millions, challenge Democratic Party failure, and put a working-class program on the national stage.
Democratic Socialists of America has begun preparing to run a presidential candidate in the 2028 Democratic primary. (Andrew Lichtenstein / Corbis via Getty Images)
Donald Trump’s return to power has brought chaos and real harm to millions of people. It’s no surprise that much of the opposition to his administration has been defensive, trying to block the worst abuses and hold the line where it can. But that can’t be the whole strategy.
If the Left wants to defeat Trumpism — not just contain it — it has to go on the offensive. That means starting now to build toward 2028 with a candidate and a program that speak clearly to working people.
The election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other left candidates across the country has shown that when we put forward a positive vision, and when we motivate thousands to act collectively, the Left can win.
Zohran’s victory has reshaped expectations about what is politically possible, contributed to the Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) growth to over one hundred thousand members, and inspired new candidates with strong ties to social movements to run nationwide. At the same time, approval of Democratic Party leadership has sunk to record lows, with many voters eager for a real political alternative. The Left has a historic opportunity — and a responsibility — to seize the moment.
That’s why we, the national cochairs of DSA, are calling for a new popular coalition of social movements, labor, and the Left to recruit and run a candidate for president of the United States. Bernie Sanders’s campaigns in 2016 and 2020 transformed American politics, leading to massive growth for left-wing movements and a heightened sense of class consciousness.
A presidential campaign is one of the most powerful means of organizing and mobilizing millions. With a resurgent left strengthened by years of experience and a growing bench of elected officials at every level of government, a 2028 campaign could build unprecedented power for the political left and the working class — in addition to capturing one of the most powerful offices in the world.
Action Is Power
This moment demands action. The Trump administration has marked a disturbing move toward authoritarianism and a willingness to use overt violence to achieve political goals. Internationally, it has continued funding the genocide in Palestine, illegally kidnapped Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, and started what looks to be a prolonged war with Iran. It has also pursued an aggressive, nationalist foreign policy through economic warfare and direct threats of annexations.
Domestically, Trump has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to occupy cities and terrorize neighborhoods, resulting in the deaths of protesters like Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good. On the legislative front, Trump’s initiatives such as the Big Beautiful Bill have harmed millions of working people by slashing crucial benefits and funneling wealth to billionaires like Elon Musk, whose wealth and power only continue to grow.
Despite these attacks, millions of people across the country are standing up to Trump. Over seven million people in all fifty states participated in the No Kings protests organized by a broad coalition, including labor unions, religious leaders, veteran groups, environmental activists, and more. When ICE attacked and occupied Minnesota, thousands of people risked their lives to disrupt deportations and demand that ICE leave their city. After relentless protests, ICE commanding officer Greg Bovino was relieved of duty and Trump announced that the majority of ICE agents stationed in Minneapolis would withdraw, without a doubt the result of sustained popular mobilization.
The No Kings protest and anti-ICE protests are evidence of resurgent political energy and enthusiasm on the Left. But our horizon must expand beyond opposing Trump as an individual figure. We must transform our nation’s politics to defeat Trump’s MAGA movement for good, by building mass movements that can win the battle for democracy and build a peaceful, just, and equitable society. That requires presenting an alternative political vision to millions of people through a presidential campaign.
There’s no doubt the Democratic Party establishment will coalesce behind their own candidate in 2028. We can already see this in Gavin Newsom’s national speaking tours, where he’s already demonstrated how out of touch he is with the working-class movements that are putting up a real fight against the Trump administration.
The Democratic Party’s leadership has not only failed to seriously resist the Trump administration, but it has shown it is totally unwilling to present a political program that speaks to the needs of working-class people — refusing to defund and abolish ICE, continuing to fund the genocide in Gaza, declining to call for meaningful taxes on the billionaire class, and lowering expectations about what government can deliver.
This approach is failing. The Democratic base is increasingly at odds with the party establishment. The Democratic Party’s favorability has dropped to record lows, creating new openings for independent political organization. The current political moment demands that we forge a new political opposition movement rooted in the working class against Trumpism and the Democratic Party establishment.
Seizing the Mamdani Moment
DSA-backed candidates across the country have already played a leading role in the opposition to Trump. Through his laser focus on affordability, which includes fast and free buses, freezing the rent, and universal childcare, Mamdani was elected mayor of our nation’s largest city. His economic program won the support of previous Trump voters, particularly in immigrant communities. Instead of shuttering his campaign machinery after election day, Mamdani brought together a host of community organizations and labor unions to form the “People’s Majority Coalition” to fight for taxing the rich to fund the new mayor’s affordability agenda.
DSA has proven that we can win races in all corners of the country. Our members are running and winning electoral campaigns in places like Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Utah, Texas, and Arizona. With a hundred thousand members, our socialist movement is stronger than it’s been in decades.
At the same time, we’ve seen a resurgence of mass militancy in the labor movement. Union members — from nurses to Starbucks baristas to Amazon warehouse workers — have gone on strike not just for better working conditions but also for the social good, including raising taxes on the wealthy and securing protections from ICE.
United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain has called for unions to align contract expirations for May 1, 2028, raising the possibility for mass labor action during the 2028 election campaign. This strike wave will be a major opportunity to fuse labor with the political left, connecting workplace struggles to the broader fight for democracy and laying the foundations for a new left-labor party.
Sanders’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns reinvigorated the Left by putting forward a platform of Medicare for All, free college, and a higher federal minimum wage. His campaign not only popularized socialist ideas but paved the way for people such as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Mamdani. The 2028 election is a chance to build on this strategy on a larger scale: spreading a vision for a new democratic society, growing membership-based political organizations, amplifying working-class struggle, and deepening our bench of down-ballot electeds.
The Work Begins Now
But no organization can do this alone. If the social forces behind the No Kings protests, the May Day movement, the Fighting Oligarchy tour, and Minnesota’s general strike against ICE were able to come together and put forward a unified electoral alternative, we could transform the political landscape.
We need a broad left-labor coalition, composed of labor unions and other mass organizations, that can draft a platform, recruit candidates for federal, state, and local office across the country, and nominate a viable socialist candidate for the 2028 presidential election. The work of identifying that candidate — ideally a nationally known elected official or labor leader — must begin now.
DSA has already begun preparing for 2028. At our national convention last year, we passed a resolution affirming our intention to run a presidential candidate in the Democratic primary. We’ve now elected a committee of national leaders who are tasked with laying the groundwork for this project, reaching out to allied organizations and identifying potential candidates.
This ambitious goal will not fail or succeed based on the strength of any individual organization but rather the broader left’s ability to come together around a common vision for a democratic society. We have a major opportunity on our horizon. Whether or not we take it is up to us.