Thus far, the post-midterm analysis has focused heavily on the blue wave narrative and the political consequences that a Democratic-controlled Congress will have upon the remaining two years of President Trump’s term.
While that story deserves attention because of its national implications, there has been far less consideration paid to the real headline of the 2026 midterm elections: socialists dominated at all levels, and democratic socialism may be on the cusp of overtaking the Democratic Party.
Since 2018, The Heartland Institute has tracked the success of socialist candidates in local, state, and federal elections under the definition of having “been endorsed by at least one of three organizations: Our Revolution, the Democratic Socialists of America, and/or the Progressive Democrats of America.”
On November 3, approximately 280 socialists ran for various political offices in towns, cities, and states throughout the nation, an all-time high according to our count.
To date, with many races still up in the air, socialists have garnered more than 200 wins against approximately 45 losses.
For context, those three organizations endorsed 51 candidates in the 2024 general election, who had a 90 percent win rate.
It must be emphasized that the Big Three are openly hostile to the Democratic Party. They do not seek to reform it; rather, their goal is to overthrow it and eliminate the moderate left.
The Progressive Democrats of America “was founded in 2004 to transform the Democratic Party and our country” via what it calls an “inside/outside strategy.”
Our Revolution “was founded by Bernie Sanders” to “elect progressives.”
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) trains its “chapters to effectively support democratic socialist candidates running for local and state office while lifting up our key issues.”
The key issues are socialist policies such as single-payer healthcare, wealth taxes, massive income redistribution programs, and “free” stuff.
“You have no debt. You don’t need health insurance. You don’t pay a mortgage or have a landlord, because comfortable housing is a human right. Your retirement is publicly funded. Food, education, energy, medicine, and transportation aren’t for-profit businesses; they are common goods and utilities,” says the DSA, if its Workers Deserve More Program is passed.
Unfortunately, as the election results show, countless Americans voted for democratic socialists last Tuesday. But what is more shocking is that democratic socialists won all over the map, even in areas thought to be invincible to socialism.
Socialists prevailed in places like Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. In some of these states, a few won federal races and will serve in the U.S. Congress.
The vast majority, however, won at the state and local level.
The DSA’s strategy of “running for local and state office” has borne much fruit, and not just in places like the Big Apple.
Now, socialists are openly running and winning in the heartland.
Come 2027, more than 200 socialists will take the oath of office and officially hold power.
This presents an irreconcilable conflict: How can they faithfully follow the Constitution when they seek to openly subvert it?
The short answer is that they cannot. The longer answer is that they never intended to in the first place.
According to the Workers Deserve More Program, the DSA is “fighting to transform society,” “draft a new constitution, and create a democratic socialist republic.”
Going into the midterms, we knew that on the coasts and in big cities, democratic socialism had already gained significant political relevance and power. What we’ve learned from the midterms is that socialism is metastasizing into the heartland.
The bad news is that even a small socialist stone tossed into a still sea creates ripple effects. Once the socialist seed is sown and harvested in the heartland, it will be nearly impossible to uproot from America’s soil.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has been infected by socialism, and it's spreading FAST. Democrats are claiming there's nothing to worry about, but we know the truth.
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