The following is a list of members of the United States Congress who have declared themselves to be socialists or have been a member of a socialist organization in the United States.
The First Red Scare and Second Red Scare, and McCarthy era, resulted in persecution of socialists, removal of socialists from unions, and weaker socialist electoral outcomes. [1]
There are currently more socialists in Congress than any point in US history, [2] most of whom are Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) members. [3]
As of March 16,2023 [update] :
Member | Photo | Chamber | Term start | Term end | State | Party | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greg Casar | House | January 3, 2023 | Incumbent | Texas | Democratic Party (DSA member, former Austin DSA endorsee) | [4] [5] | ||
Summer Lee | House | January 3, 2023 | Incumbent | Pennsylvania | Democratic Party (former DSA member and former DSA endorsee [lower-alpha 1] ) | [6] [7] | ||
Cori Bush | House | January 3, 2021 | Incumbent | Missouri | Democratic Party (DSA member and endorsee) | [2] [8] [9] | ||
Jamaal Bowman | House | January 3, 2021 | Incumbent | New York | Democratic Party (DSA member and NYC-DSA endorsee) | [2] [10] [11] [12] | ||
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | House | January 3, 2019 | Incumbent | New York | Democratic Party (DSA member and endorsee) | [2] [13] | ||
Rashida Tlaib | House | January 3, 2019 | Incumbent | Michigan | Democratic Party (DSA member and endorsee) | [2] [13] | ||
Ilhan Omar | House | January 3, 2019 | Incumbent | Minnesota | Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party | [lower-alpha 2] | ||
Bernie Sanders | Senate | January 3, 2007 | Incumbent | Vermont | Independent (won all Democratic Party primaries) | [18] [19] [20] | ||
Danny Davis | House | January 3, 1997 | Incumbent | Illinois | Democratic Party (former New Party member and DSA member) | [lower-alpha 3] | ||
Bernie Sanders | House | January 3, 1991 | January 3, 2007 | Vermont | Independent (won most Democratic Party votes) | [18] [19] [20] | ||
Major Owens | House | January 3, 1983 | January 3, 2007 | New York | Democratic Party (DSA member) | [13] [25] | ||
David Bonior | House | January 3, 1977 | January 3, 2003 | Michigan | Democratic Party (DSA member) | [26] [27] | ||
Ron Dellums | House | January 3, 1971 | February 6, 1998 | California | Democratic Party (DSA member) | [13] [28] | ||
John Conyers | House | January 3, 1965 | December 5, 2017 | Michigan | Democratic Party (DSA member) | [29] | ||
William H. Meyer | House | January 3, 1959 | January 3, 1961 | Vermont | Democratic Party (Future Liberty Union Party founder) | [30] | ||
Andrew Biemiller | House | January 3, 1949 | January 3, 1951 | Wisconsin | Democratic Party (former Socialist Party of America member) | [31] | ||
Leo Isacson | House | February 17, 1948 | January 3, 1949 | New York | American Labor Party | [32] | ||
Andrew Biemiller | House | January 3, 1945 | January 3, 1947 | Wisconsin | Democratic Party (former Socialist Party of America member) | [31] | ||
Hugh De Lacy | House | January 3, 1945 | January 3, 1947 | Washington | Democratic Party (Communist Party USA member) | [33] | ||
Bolívar Pagán | House | December 26, 1939 | January 3, 1945 | Puerto Rico | Republican Union (Socialist Party member) | |||
Vito Marcantonio | House | January 3, 1939 | January 3, 1951 | New York | American Labor Party | [32] [34] | ||
John Bernard | House | January 3, 1937 | January 3, 1939 | Minnesota | Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party (Future Communist Party USA member) | [35] [36] | ||
Jerry J. O'Connell | House | January 3, 1937 | January 3, 1939 | Montana | Democratic Party | [37] | ||
Jerry Voorhis | House | January 3, 1937 | January 3, 1947 | California | Democratic Party (former Socialist Party of America member) | [38] | ||
Vito Marcantonio | House | January 3, 1935 | January 3, 1937 | New York | Republican Party | [32] [34] | ||
Santiago Iglesias | House | March 4, 1933 | December 5, 1939 | Puerto Rico | Socialist Party | |||
Homer Bone | Senate | January 3, 1933 | November 13, 1944 | Washington | Democratic Party (former Socialist Party of America member) | [39] | ||
Fiorello LaGuardia | House | March 4, 1927 | March 3, 1933 | New York | Republican Party (former Socialist Party of America candidate and self-identified socialist) | [40] | ||
Fiorello LaGuardia | House | March 4, 1925 | March 4, 1927 | New York | Socialist Party of America and Progressive Party | [40] | ||
Fiorello LaGuardia | House | March 4, 1923 | March 4, 1925 | New York | Republican Party (future Socialist Party of America candidate and self-identified socialist) | [40] | ||
Victor Berger | House | March 4, 1923 | March 3, 1929 | Wisconsin | Socialist Party of America | [13] | ||
Meyer London | House | March 4, 1921 | March 3, 1923 | New York | Socialist Party of America | [13] | ||
Victor Berger | House | March 4, 1919 | November 10, 1919 | Wisconsin | Socialist Party of America | [13] | ||
Fiorello LaGuardia | House | March 4, 1917 | December 31, 1919 | New York | Republican Party (future Socialist Party of America candidate and self-identified socialist) | [40] | ||
George Lunn | House | March 4, 1917 | March 4, 1919 | New York | Democratic Party (former Socialist Party of America member) | [41] | ||
Meyer London | House | March 4, 1915 | March 3, 1919 | New York | Socialist Party of America | [13] | ||
Harry Lane | Senate | March 4, 1913 | May 23, 1917 | Oregon | Democratic Party | [42] | ||
Victor Berger | House | March 4, 1911 | March 3, 1913 | Wisconsin | Socialist Party of America | [13] | ||
Freeman Knowles | House | March 4, 1897 | March 3, 1899 | South Dakota | People's Party (United States) (Future Socialist Party of America Member) | [43] | ||
Kittel Halvorson | House | March 3, 1891 | March 4, 1893 | Wisconsin | People's Party (United States) (Future Socialist Party of America Member) | [44] | ||
Lewis Featherstone | House | March 5, 1890 | March 3, 1891 | Arkansas | Union Labor Party | |||
Henry Smith | House | March 4, 1887 | March 3, 1889 | Wisconsin | Union Labor Party | [45] | ||
Horace Greeley | House | December 4, 1848 | March 3, 1849 | New York | Whig Party (United States) | [46] | ||
Robert Dale Owen | House | March 4, 1843 | March 3, 1847 | Indiana | Democratic Party | [47] |
Ronald Vernie Dellums was an American politician who served as Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. He had previously served thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 9th congressional district, in office from 1971 to 1998, after which he worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.
The Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) is the youth section of the Democratic Socialists of America. The organization was known as Young Democratic Socialists (YDS) until 2017.
Shri Thanedar is an American businessman, author, and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 13th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Thanedar served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 2021 to 2023. He was also a candidate in the Democratic primary for governor of Michigan in the 2018 election.
Ayanna Soyini Pressley is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district since 2019. This district includes the northern three quarters of Boston, most of Cambridge, parts of Milton, as well as all of Chelsea, Everett, Randolph, and Somerville. Before serving in the United States House of Representatives, Pressley served as an at-large member of the Boston City Council from 2010 through 2019. She was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2018 after she defeated the ten-term incumbent Mike Capuano in the Democratic primary election for Massachusetts' 7th congressional district and ran unopposed in the general election. Pressley was the first black woman elected to the Boston City Council and the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. Pressley is a member of "The Squad", a group of progressive Congress members.
The American Left can refer to multiple concepts. It is sometimes used as a shorthand for groups aligned with the Democratic Party. At other times, it refers to groups that have sought egalitarian changes in the economic, political, and cultural institutions of the United States. Various subgroups with a national scope are active. Liberals and progressives believe that equality can be accommodated into existing capitalist structures, but they differ in their criticism of capitalism and on the extent of reform and the welfare state. Anarchists, communists, and socialists with international imperatives are also present within this macro-movement. Many communes and egalitarian communities have existed in the United States as a sub-category of the broader intentional community movement, some of which were based on utopian socialist ideals. The left has been involved in both the Democratic and Republican parties at different times, having originated in the Democratic-Republican Party as opposed to the Federalist Party.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a broad tent, democratic socialist political organization in the United States. After the Socialist Party of America (SPA) transformed into Social Democrats, USA, Michael Harrington formed the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC). The DSOC later merged with the New American Movement (NAM) to form the DSA. The organization is headquartered in New York City and has about 80,000 members. It leads organizing and protest campaigns, and has members in the House of Representatives, state legislatures, and other local offices.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the state of Kansas, one from each of the state's four congressional districts.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held November 6, 2018 to elect a U.S. Representative from each of New York's 27 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the gubernatorial election, as well as an election to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known by her initials AOC, is an American left-wing politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of the Democratic Party.
Lee Jin Carter is an American former politician who represented the 50th district in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2018 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Jackson Miller, the Republican House Majority Whip, to win the seat. Born in North Carolina, Carter is an IT specialist and a former U.S. Marine. The first openly communist state delegate in the United States since 1929, Carter served on the Finance Committee and the Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee. In 2017, he was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), of which he was then a member.
Jabari Brisport is an American politician, activist, and former public school teacher. He is the state senator for New York's 25th State Senate district in Brooklyn, and the first openly gay person of color to be elected to the New York State Legislature.
Julia Salazar is an American politician and activist. She is the New York State Senator for the 18th district, which covers much of northern Brooklyn, centered on Bushwick. She won the seat as a first-time candidate after unseating incumbent Senator Martin Malave Dilan in the Democratic Party primary in 2018. She attracted national media attention for her support for sex workers' rights and other views. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, she became the first member of the organization to serve in New York's state legislature.
The Squad is an informal group of nine Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives. It was initially composed of four women elected in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. They have since been joined by Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri following the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections, and Greg Casar of Texas, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, and Delia Ramirez of Illinois following the 2022 elections. The Squad is well known for being among the most progressive and left-wing members of the United States Congress.
Jamaal Anthony Bowman is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 16th congressional district since 2021. The district covers the southern half of Westchester County, including Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and Yonkers, as well as a small portion of the Bronx.
The 2018 New York's 14th congressional district election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. The primaries for New York's federal elections were held earlier in the year on June 26. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated incumbent congressman Joe Crowley in the primary, and went on to defeat Republican opponent Anthony Pappas in the general election.
Cori Anika Bush is an American politician, nurse, pastor, and Black Lives Matter activist serving as the U.S. representative for Missouri's 1st congressional district, since 2021. The district includes all of the city of St. Louis and most of northern St. Louis County.
Gregorio Eduardo Casar is an American politician who is the member for Texas's 35th congressional district in the United States Congress since 2023. He served as a member of the Austin City Council from the 4th district from 2015 to 2022. Casar is a member of the Democratic Party and was endorsed by the Working Families Party in his run for Congress. Casar is an unendorsed member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He was first elected to the Austin City Council in 2014, representing District 4. He was reelected in 2016 and 2020. He was elected to Congress in 2022.
Sarahana Shrestha is a Nepalese-American democratic socialist politician and activist who is a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the New York's 103rd State Assembly district. She was first elected in November 2022.
While Dellums and Owens were supportive of DSA, knowledge of their membership in an organization that at the time counted only a few thousand members was mostly left-wing insider baseball. Relatively few of their constituents had likely ever heard of DSA. Not so for the socialists in Congress today, in part because the organization itself has grown a dozen-fold in recent years, recently surpassing 80,000 members. The new socialists' organizational credentials are regularly cited by friends and foes alike ("Democratic socialists salivate over current, future New York state gains," Fox News reported with its usual taste and balance after last November's election.)
In the House, the entire Squad was re-elected, which includes DSA members and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.). They will be joined next year Summer Lee, who won in Pennsylvania. As a result, the next Congress will include more socialists than at any point in U.S. history.
Omar does not openly identify as a democratic socialist like Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez
The self-described 'democratic socialist' enters the race as a robust liberal alternative ...
The Illinois New Party is working intensively on Willie Delgado's state representative campaign. Delgado is part of an emerging Latino network in Chicago. We're also backing Danny Davis in a Congressional race, Barack Obama for state representative, and judicial candidate Patricia Martin. In addition to the electoral work, the NP in Chicago is supporting a local living wage campaign and an effort to prevent the placement of a waste site on the West Side.
And Danny Davis is certainly not foreign to Chicago DSA. From the very beginning, he has always been willing to help: appearing as a speaker with Michael Harrington, serving as a Master of Ceremonies without peer at the annual Debs – Thomas – Harrington Dinner.
I was DSA's liaison to Owens' congressional office in Brooklyn. I wrote and called his office when we wanted him to speak at one of our events. He never turned us down. Having once paid dues he believed himself to be a lifetime member of DSA and never let me forget my affiliation with the organization, interrupting me from time to time when I said something that surprised him, with "Is that the official position of DSA?"
Rep. Bonior and his wife Judy are longtime DSA members. They received the Douglass-Debs Award from Detroit DSA in 2003. Rep. Bonior was a co-host for DSA-PAC's successful fundraiser for Bernie Sanders in 2006. It was a pleasure for Detroit DSA to welcome David Bonior home for this event.
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(help)He wishes Republicans "good luck" with trying to paint him as a socialist, saying, "My family fled that."
Notably, she's not a political rookie, and she does not identify as a democratic socialist.
Pressley wasn't putting herself forward as a democratic socialist like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who successfully challenged the New York congressman Joe Crowley from the left.