By Bianca Flowers, Nolan D. McCaskill and Kat Stafford
WASHINGTON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - After a summer of victories for Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidates, the movement faces a new test: whether it can win over Black voters, a constituency central to Democrats' hopes of regaining control of Congress in November.
Florida state Representative Angie Nixon, who could become the first Black lawmaker elected to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate, may offer part of an answer. She overcame
a more than 16-to-1 fundraising disadvantage to defeat retired Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman in the Democratic primary contest, running up large margins in Black communities while focusing on affordability and other everyday concerns.
The debate underscores a challenge for DSA-backed candidates seeking to build on their primary successes. While Black voters have long criticized Democrats for paying attention to their communities mainly at election time, activists, strategists and community leaders interviewed by Reuters said some democratic socialists and progressive candidates face a different hurdle: persuading voters they are focused on housing, healthcare and rising living costs rather than ideological issues such as Gaza and defunding the police.
DSA officials say their organizing is centered on economic concerns, from housing costs and food prices to stagnant wages.
DSA-aligned candidates have challenged and in some cases defeated more moderate Democratic rivals in a string of high-profile primaries, intensifying an internal party debate over whether progressive energy can translate into broader voter appeal when Democrats face Republicans in November.
Interviews with more than two dozen activists, strategists and community leaders suggest DSA-backed candidates face an uphill battle with some Black voters in November. Some fear alienation from democratic socialists could threaten turnout among one of Democrats' most reliable constituencies.
"Many times, Black people feel like the Democratic Party doesn’t come until it’s time to vote," Nixon told Reuters. "That’s why it’s just really important to organize. And I would say DSA has to do the same thing."
THE BLACK VOTER CHALLENGE
The divide also played out in the razor-thin Democratic primary for governor in Wisconsin, where Black voters helped Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley overcome a double-digit polling deficit to defeat DSA member Francesca Hong.
The stakes are perhaps highest in Michigan, where an Abdul El-Sayed loss would cost Democrats a key U.S. Senate seat, imperiling their bid to win control of the chamber in November. El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate U.S. Representative Haley Stevens, who was overwhelmingly backed by Black voters.
Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist, said the mistake Democrats and the DSA have made is waiting until they need votes from Black voters to ask them what they actually want from a candidate.
"I don't think the DSA is interested in actually hearing what Black voters think or feel is important," he said. "I think they're more interested in trying to say their agenda is the only agenda."
Ashik Siddique, DSA national co-chair, said the group's organizing has paid off with working-class Black voters in races such as the Washington, D.C., mayoral race.
"Black people, especially in the United States, have been dealing with discrimination in various systematic ways, and we are really focusing on economic solutions that bring people together across identity differences and would benefit people who have been disproportionately harmed by massive inequality," he said.
EL-SAYED COURTS BLACK VOTERS IN MICHIGAN
Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, meaning Democrats would need to flip four seats to win the chamber — assuming they successfully defend Michigan and Georgia, two states Republican President Donald Trump won in 2024. Former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers ran unopposed for the Republican nomination and has built a $4.5 million campaign fund.
Though El-Sayed says he is a capitalist, Republicans have repeatedly painted him as a socialist. His supporters say his grassroots campaign has energized liberal voters and young people disillusioned with politics, pointing to the primary's record turnout. But political leaders and community advocates in Michigan say one of his most significant challenges will be earning the support of Black voters.
The Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus initially endorsed Stevens but has since backed El-Sayed. Keith D. Williams, the group's chairman, advised El-Sayed to pivot from Israel to kitchen-table issues, noting Black communities across the state are grappling with rising costs and want to know how candidates plan to make their lives more affordable.
"Leave Gaza and all that other stuff," Williams said. "Just stay focused on here, right here, right now, because he needs Black voters."
Pastor Greg Lewis, who leads the Milwaukee-based voter engagement nonprofit Souls to the Polls, said many Black voters are turned off by extreme politics, such as calls to defund the police.
"When you move too far to the left or too far to the right, I think you lose people and you lose energy," Lewis said.
Frank D. Woods, chairman of the Wayne County Democratic Black Caucus, which backed El-Sayed, held an event at his home for El-Sayed in August. Nearly 200 people gathered to hear his plans to support Black Michiganders.
"He's a minority as well," Woods said of El-Sayed, a Muslim whose father was an Egyptian immigrant. "People tend to overlook that his community suffers through a similar discrimination that we do."
GENERATIONAL DIVIDE AMONG BLACK VOTERS
In interviews, activists, organizers and Democratic strategists said that while older Black voters tend to be more moderate, the DSA has made inroads among young Black voters.
Donna Givens Davidson, president and CEO of the Eastside Community Network on Detroit's East Side, attributes the defeat of U.S. Representative Shri Thanedar by democratic socialist state Representative Donavan McKinney to a “political awakening” among young Black voters.
"I don't know too many millennials and Gen Z'ers who are opposed to DSA," she said. "It's mostly Gen X and Boomers who are sort of taking these establishment positions."
Activists said Black voters are more concerned about candidates' actual policies and whether they consistently show up in their communities than DSA, Democrat or any other political label.
"The conversation between establishment and socialism feels like a really wonky, almost academi-fied type of conversation about electoral politics that doesn't actually include how real voters think and speak," said Angela Lang, executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities in Milwaukee.
Armando Grundy-Gomes, president of the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida, said Nixon, the DSA candidate who has been most successful winning over Black voters, did it by focusing on issues such as healthcare, childcare, paid parental leave, housing and immigration.
"Was it DSA messaging that resonated with Florida voters?" he said. "No, it was Angie Nixon and Angie Nixon's platform."
(Reporting by Bianca Flowers, Nolan D. McCaskill and Kat Stafford; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Michael Learmonth and Howard Goller)
