Last week, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates swept primaries across New York City, including a victory over a five-term incumbent in Harlem and the Bronx.
The movement that helped make Zohran Mamdani mayor now looks like a governing bloc, with at least 15 endorsed candidates heading to Albany.
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But centrist commentators quickly pushed back, noting that on the same night, moderates won in a swing district and in Utah.
Andrew Mamo of The Bench, a centrist recruitment group, claimed leftwing candidates have “a ceiling of 30% in swing districts,” even as they clear 50% in New York City.
The easy reply is that DSA now has chapters in 47 states and has won in Trump country.
That’s true, but it’s not enough. The broader progressive movement is struggling across much of the country.
Jared Abbott of the Center for Working Class Politics found that of nearly 100 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 2024, only one represented a mostly rural district.
Rural and rural-suburban districts make up 41% of the House and a larger share of state legislatures.
Rural voters share economic priorities
Democrats have often won a thin majority without rural districts, but they haven’t kept one. The system isn’t built for a party crammed into a dozen metros.
The Senate gives Wyoming as many votes as California, making it impossible to govern without contesting rural America.
Yet Abbott’s research suggests hope.
