Who they are, what they believe, and their publicly stated plan to use the Democratic Party as a vehicle for socialism.
The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.
The Democratic Socialists of America is not a fringe protest group. It is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with approximately 80,000 dues-paying members, over 250 elected officials nationwide, and a detailed strategy for gaining power — not by building their own party, but by borrowing yours.
A July 2025 poll of 902 Minneapolis voters by Victoria Research reveals who DSA-aligned ("DemSoc") voters actually are, how they differ from the broader electorate, and how the DSA's candidate performs with the communities they claim to champion.
DemSoc voters are whiter (86% vs 83%), more college-educated (71% vs 67%), and less Black (7% vs 9%) than the overall Minneapolis electorate. But the demographic gap is only part of the story. On the issues that matter most — public safety, policing, and encampments — DemSoc voters are dramatically out of step with both mainstream Democrats and Black voters.
The 2025 Minneapolis mayoral race between Mayor Jacob Frey (DFL) and State Senator Omar Fateh (DSA) provides the clearest test of who the DSA actually represents — and who they don't.
The DSA was founded in 1982 from the merger of two older socialist organizations. For three decades, it functioned as a small advocacy group with aging membership. Then, starting in 2016, it exploded.
The DSA is technically a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization — not a political party. This is a crucial legal distinction. They cannot appear on a ballot line in most states. Their members run on other parties' ballot lines instead — almost always the Democratic Party's. In Minnesota, that means the DFL.
The DSA's 2021 national platform — adopted at their convention and published on their website — is unambiguous. They are not progressives. They are not reformers. They are socialists who want to replace the American economic and political system.
On capitalism: "We fight for the abolition of capitalism and the creation of a democratically run economy."
On policing: "Defund the police by… cutting budgets annually towards zero." "Disarm law enforcement officers." "Free all people from involuntary confinement."
On industry: "Social ownership of all major industry and infrastructure." "Nationalize and socialize institutions of monetary policy, insurance, real estate, and finance."
On the Constitution: "A new political order through a second constitutional convention to write the founding documents of a new socialist democracy." "Abolish the Senate and the Electoral College."
On America: "DSA operates in the heart of a global capitalist empire that has wrought untold suffering on billions of people."
For the full platform comparison with the DFL, see our Policies policy breakdown.
Here is the part most voters don't know: the DSA has a publicly discussed, openly debated strategy for using the Democratic Party as a vehicle for socialist power — with the explicit long-term goal of breaking away once they've built enough strength. They call it the "dirty break."
This is not a conspiracy theory. It's discussed in DSA publications, debated at their conventions, and outlined in their strategic documents. Here's how it works:
DSA candidates run in Democratic primaries because third-party candidates can't win in America's system. In Minnesota, they file as "DFL" even though their actual allegiance is to the DSA platform.
DSA's organizational discipline — volunteer armies, coordinated canvassing, trained delegates — allows a small number of committed activists to dominate low-turnout party processes. In Minneapolis, the 2025 DFL convention saw Omar Fateh win the mayoral endorsement through this tactic before it was rescinded for procedural violations.
While using the Democratic ballot line, DSA builds its own organizational power — fundraising, canvassing operations, media, and political education — independent of the party whose name they borrow. The Twin Cities DSA knocked on 50,000 doors in 2025 and organized 1,000+ volunteer shifts.
Once in office, DSA members use their positions to push the party's mainstream toward more radical positions — or to create public conflicts that highlight the gap between the party base and its "corporate" leadership. In Minneapolis, the DSA bloc's 8 vetoes in 2024 are a feature, not a bug.
The ultimate goal is to build enough power to leave the Democratic Party entirely and form an independent socialist party. They're open about this — they just haven't decided when to pull the trigger.
"We can use the Democratic Party ballot line strategically, for our own purposes: to wage campaigns that heighten the level of class consciousness in society, encourage people to take militant action in the form of strikes and other kinds of protest activity, and even raise awareness of and interest in socialism."
DSA strategist Eric Blanc has even described the possibility of a "hostile takeover" of the Democratic Party itself — capturing "both the presidency and the leadership of Congress" through "class struggle primary challenges."
The "dirty break" is not some fringe position within DSA. At their 2025 national convention, it was the dominant, essentially unchallenged strategy:
"No one argued against the previously-adopted dirty break strategy. And no one argued against our tactical flexibility running candidates on the Democratic Party ballot line. One can now make the case that there is a broad consensus within DSA."
Robin Wonsley, the DSA's Minority Leader on the Minneapolis City Council, has been explicit about where this is heading:
"There's an active discussion within the DSA about strategy around becoming a political party. But we're all united in understanding that our current two-party system isn't serving ordinary people."
The Twin Cities DSA chapter — formally registered as a 501(c)(4) in 2017 — has become one of the most effective DSA chapters in the country. Their playbook in Minneapolis is a textbook execution of the dirty break:
File as DFL: DSA candidates file for office using "DFL" as their party label — even though their platform is the DSA's, not the DFL's. Only Robin Wonsley has been honest enough to use "Democratic Socialists of America" as her ballot designation.
Pack caucuses: DSA organizes its members to flood DFL precinct caucuses and conventions, securing endorsements for their candidates. The 2025 Minneapolis DFL convention — where Fateh won the mayoral endorsement — saw over 100 challenges filed for procedural manipulation. The state DFL rescinded the endorsement.
Claim the brand: Once elected, DSA members benefit from the DFL's decades of goodwill with Minnesota voters — the brand that Humphrey, Mondale, and Wellstone built — while pursuing policies those leaders would never have supported.
Build parallel power: The DSA bloc on the council created "Majority Leader" and "Minority Leader" titles in January 2026 — positions that never existed before — and filled both with democratic socialists, formalizing a party-within-a-party at City Hall.
The DSA is not trying to improve the DFL. They're not trying to push it a little to the left. They are using it — openly, admittedly, strategically — as a vehicle for an ideology that most Minnesotans don't share and haven't voted for.
They run on the DFL ballot line because they can't win on their own. They pack DFL caucuses because they can't win a general election debate on their actual platform. And they plan to leave the moment they think they're strong enough to survive without the DFL's name.
Hubert Humphrey saw this exact playbook in the 1940s — and he fought it. The question is whether today's DFL has the courage to do the same.
See the DSA platform compared to the DFL, line by line.
Read the Policies comparison →