DSA Timeline

Claire Valdez (NY-7), Darializa Avila Chevalier (NY-13), and Brad Lander (NY-10) all win. Two Democratic incumbents toppled. DSA congressional representation doubles in one night. Victory party erupts in "From the river to the sea" chants. $9.6M in anti-DSA spending fails.

Aber Kawas (SD12), Samantha Kattan (AD37), David Orkin (AD38 — toppled Rajkumar), Christian Celeste Tate (AD54 — toppled Dilan), Eon Huntley (AD56 — toppled Zinerman), Illapa Sairitupac (AD65) all win by double digits.

At the DSA victory party following the primary sweep, attendees chanted "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" — the Hamas rallying cry widely understood as a call for the elimination of Israel. Video verified.

Valdez sits for interview with Michael Beyer, DSA member who was suspended from Twitch for calling Jews "demonic ethnicity." Valdez: "This is exactly why I really love being a member of DSA." ADL condemned Beyer's antisemitic remarks.

Hours after inauguration, Mayor Mamdani wiped all pro-Israel executive orders issued by predecessor Eric Adams. Israeli Foreign Ministry: "This isn't leadership. It's antisemitic gasoline on an open fire." Israel's minister of diaspora affairs called Mamdani a "Hamas sympathiser."

DSA member Zohran Mamdani defeats former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for NYC Mayor. Becomes first Muslim mayor of America's largest city. First major DSA win at municipal executive level of a major U.S. city.

In Bulwark interview, Mamdani says "globalize the intifada" captures "a desperate desire for equality and equal rights." ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt calls it "explicit incitement to violence." U.S. Holocaust Museum condemns Mamdani's use of the phrase.

All three DSA-endorsed Squad members win reelection. Cori Bush loses MO-01 primary amid federal indictment. AOC votes PRESENT on Hamas condemnation during cycle. Tlaib censured for Hamas slogan.

Columbia University Apartheid Divest — co-founded by Darializa Avila Chevalier — leads violent occupation of Hamilton Hall. Multiple arrests. Avila Chevalier will later run for Congress citing this activism.

Hamas kills 1,200 Israelis, takes 251 hostage. Mamdani's statement: zero Hamas mentions, condemns Israel only. Valdez likes X post: "Glory to the resistance." Avila Chevalier attends pro-Hamas Times Square rally Oct. 8. DSA does not condemn the attack.

House votes to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib after she promoted "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" — Hamas rallying cry. Tlaib voted NO on the condemnation of Hamas's October 7 attack.

DSA Resolution #34: "The DSA reaffirms its support for the Palestinian people's struggle for liberation and their right to resist occupation by any means necessary." Passes at national convention.

Summer Lee wins PA-12, becoming first Black congresswoman from Pennsylvania. Greg Casar wins TX-35 on socialist/open borders platform. DSA congressional bloc grows. Both endorsed by DSA national.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is among nine House members to vote NO on $1 billion in Iron Dome missile defense funding for Israel. Initially voted present before switching to NO amid DSA chapter pressure.

Rep. Ilhan Omar: "We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban." Widely condemned.

AOC defeats 10-term incumbent Joseph Crowley in the NY-14 Democratic primary — the biggest upset in the 2018 midterms. The first major DSA win at the federal level. Marks the beginning of the DSA's systematic electoral strategy.

In rap track "Salam," Mamdani raps: "My love to the Holy Land Five. You better look 'em up." The Holy Land Five are heads of a charity convicted of financing Hamas — the largest terrorism financing prosecution in U.S. history.

DSA national convention votes to officially endorse the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement. BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti has documented ties to Hamas leadership. The vote cements the Red-Green Axis within the DSA.

The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development is convicted in the largest terrorism financing prosecution in U.S. history. CAIR — the Council on American-Islamic Relations — is named an unindicted co-conspirator. CAIR has since become a major donor to DSA-aligned candidates.

DSA founded by Michael Harrington through merger of Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee and New American Movement. Originally a fringe organization with a few thousand members. Would grow to 92,000+ members by 2026 following the Bernie Sanders 2016 surge.