NPC Statement on 2018 Elections

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NPC Statement on 2018 Elections was issued November 7, 2018 by the Democratic Socialists of America National Political Committee.[1]

Full statement

Yesterday democratic socialists fought and won inspiring election campaigns across the country, representing the rebirth of the American socialist movement after generations in retreat. Most significantly, DSA members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York and Rashida Tlaib in Michigan were officially elected as members of Congress, and Summer Lee, Gabriel Acevero, Mike Sylvester and many other DSA supported candidates won inspiring victories at the helm of a working-class movement for social justice. These victories for a resurgent Left are only the beginning — the real work of transforming ours into a equal, humane, and just society will take many years of organizing and educating. The obstacles we face are still enormous.

While Democrats succeeded in taking back a slim majority in the House of Representatives, striking a blow to the extreme right-wing and pro-corporate agenda represented by Trump and the Republican Party, the Senate remains in the hands of Republicans.

In the last two years, Republicans have done all they can to attack the interests of workers, people of color, women, LGBTQIA+ and disabled people. Their denial of climate change and pro-fossil fuel policies threaten us all. Trump’s racist and xenophobic rhetoric has invigorated violent white nationalism across the country. The GOP has repealed crucial environmental regulations, escalated the deportation regime, attacked our healthcare and social security, and ushered in trillions of dollars of tax cuts for the ultra-rich.

Despite all of this, the Democratic Party establishment has been unable or unwilling to muster a serious opposition. Unfettered capitalism has bred increasing poverty and inequality; homelessness is on the rise, tens of millions are have no or inadequate healthcare, public schools and our public infrastructure are disastrously underfunded and crumbling, suicide rates and opioid addiction are on the rise, and the inhumane U.S. spends billions holding more people behind bars than any other country in the world.

However, a renewed working-class movement across this country gives us hope. Earlier this year, teachers in West Virginia went on a historic statewide strike, winning massive concessions and inspiring similar militant action in communities from Arizona and Oklahoma to Kentucky and Washington State. In every respect, 2018 marks the return of the strike and what looks to be the beginning of a new era of militant working-class resistance to corporate control of our society.

Meanwhile, the demand — advanced by DSA and other organizations — for universal healthcare and a progressively funded single-payer system has reached new levels of popularity, including polling favorably with 52% of Republican voters.

Nearly fifty thousand people have joined the Democratic Socialists of America since Trump’s 2016 election. Inspired by Bernie Sanders’s message of a moral economy and his call for a political revolution, a new generation is eager to take up the cause of democratic socialism.

Thanks to this upsurge, DSA has been able to fight for Medicare for All, College for All, equal rights for all, and a revitalized labor movement. DSA has also succeeded in winning key elections all over the country, in red states and blue states. In addition to new DSA congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib, we also won other incredible victories at the state level:

Each of these candidates ran against corporate-backed Republican or Democratic political establishments on inspiring platforms demanding an end to austerity and oppression. We are building a pipeline from local positions all the way to national politics.

We call on all those who believe in the cause of social and economic justice to join us in building a mass movement of and for the working-class majority. Only such a movement can defeat the political establishment and win a world for the many, not just the wealthy few.

A full list of wins, complete as of the time of this distribution, can be found below. The list will be updated as more races are called. You can support DSA’s work here.

Nationally Endorsed Elected Officials

Locally Endorsed Elected Officials

Locally Endorsed Ballot Initiatives

  • AZ – No on 305 – School Vouchers
  • CA – No on Prop 6 – Gas Tax Repeal
  • CA – Yes on Prop 1 – Affordable Housing Bond
  • CA – Yes on Measure L – Raise Anaheim City Worker Minimum Wage
  • CA – Yes on Measure O – Berkeley Housing Bonds
  • CA – Yes on Measure WW – Long Beach Fair Work Conditions for Hotel Workers
  • CA – Yes on Measure Y – Close Oakland Eviction Loopholes
  • CA – Yes on Prop 12 – Minimum Enclosure Size for Animals When Raised for Meat or Eggs
  • CA – Yes on Prop 2 – Housing for People w/ Mental Illnesses
  • CA – Yes on Prop C – Our City Our Home
  • CA – Yes on Measure P – Tax on Wealthy Berkeley Property Transfers
  • CO – No on Amendment 74 – Corporate Power to Sue Governments Over Laws That Affect Their Property
  • CO – Yes on Amendment A – Removal of Exemption to Slavery Prohibition for Criminals
  • CO – Yes on Prop 111 – Cap Payday Loans
  • CO – Yes on Question 2E – Democracy for the People
  • FL – Amendment 4 – Felon Re-enfranchisement
  • IL – Yes on – Lift the Ban on Rent Control (Non-Binding)
  • MA – Yes on 2 – Limit Corporate Election Spending
  • MA – Yes on 3 – Trans Non-Discrimination Protections
  • MA – Yes on 4 – Medicare for All (Non-Binding)
  • MD – Yes on Question E – No Baltimore Sewer Privatization
  • MD – Yes on Question H – Baltimore Fair Election Fund
  • MO – Yes on Amendment 1 – Clean Elections
  • MO – Yes on Amendment 2 – Medical Marijuana
  • MO – Yes on Prop B – Raise Minimum Wage to $12
  • OR – No on 103 – Ban Grocery Taxes
  • OR – No on 104 – “End Easy Taxes”
  • OR – No on 105 – Repeal Sanctuary State Initiative
  • OR – No on 106 – Ban Public Funds for Abortions
  • OR – Yes on 26-200 – Portland Campaign Finance Reform
  • OR – Yes on Measure 26-201 – Portland Clean Energy Fund
  • TN – Yes on Amendment 1 – Davidson County Community Oversight of Police
  • TX – Yes on Prop A – Affordable Austin
  • WA – Yes on Prop 2018-5 – Bellingham Affordable Housing Levy

References

  1. ↑ [1]
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