u/hau5keeping

Hello everyone,

I am a former Membership Coordinator for NYC-DSA, and have been really thrilled by our recent victories as well as nationwide victories such as Chris Rabb.

I've compiled a short list of what I hope will be helpful articles for people who have chapters less involved in electoral organizing, non-members, or people who are just generally curious about the 'standard' DSA approach.

Common questions I've seen from new members and interested non-members include: why doesn't DSA have its own ballot line, why is DSA so electoral focused, how do DSA electoral programs and coordination among their electeds work? This is a selection of articles and interviews picked to give some context. Note that some of these may be paywalled, but that's often easy to get around.

Also its worth noting that DSA is a big tent left organization, so there has been and is significant disagreement about everything listed here. Take these materials as a curated selection for new members to clarify common DSA approaches to electoral. For full disclosure ideologically I am a member of Groundwork Caucus.

• Three and Half Socialist Electoral Strategies
  • This is a basic article, but useful to understand the terms commonly used within DSA to discuss electoral approaches. Note that some of these terms have drifted over time so may not be 1-1 with what people mean nowadays.
• Blueprint for a New Party & Party of a New Type
  • These articles detail the 'party surrogate' approach that many DSA chapters have taken when running electoral campaigns. They are arguably the most fundamentally important essays to understanding NYC-DSA's approach.
• How Zohran's 50k Strong Volunteer Army Pulled it Off & How Zohran Won w/ NYC-DSA
  • Tascha van Auken, Gustavo Gordillo and Grace Mauser are all high profile NYC-DSA members who have been essential in various ways to our development. In particular Tascha is one of the people who really helped pioneer our current approach to field. Valuably, these materials go into the mechanics of and ideas behind NYC-DSA's electoral approach.
• Can We Onboard The Working Class?
  • I feel bad putting one of my articles among several classics, but I am sharing this to highlight a key detail of electoral races - they build us beyond just creating a bench of elected officials. While the US is difficult terrain for a socialist organization, DSA has demonstrated the ability to 'make our own success' so to speak. Electoral races in particular have repeatedly led to major membership bumps.
  • As a side note - you should check out Geese Magazine, they have been on an absolute over the last year. They are quite possibly the most vital websites on the US left right now.

I am happy to post more articles and answer any questions folks have as needed. If your chapter wants to start building its own electoral program (now is a great time to start to think forward for 2028), National DSA has some excellent electoral staffers who have helped many small and medium chapters build strong programs.

He has my vote! First mayor in 80 years of knicks history who gets to give a championship parade speech and he came with actual poetry instead of talking points