The left wing of the U.S. Democratic Party is increasingly drawing on socialist and Marxist ideas, shifting its emphasis from minority rights and fighting discrimination to economic inequality, the French daily Le Monde assessed on Monday.
According to the newspaper, the change is especially visible in the work of Bernie Sanders, an independent senator who works with the Democrats, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. In their speeches and platforms, the politicians place greater emphasis on the cost of living, housing affordability, wages and health care, as they try to win back working-class voters.
As Le Monde noted, the growing interest in socialism is reflected in the results of intraparty elections. In 2026, 123 candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) won primaries at various levels; 19 of them ran for seats in Congress. The DSA now has about 120,000 members.
The paper also cited an August poll by CBS News and YouGov, according to which 58% of Democratic Party voters view socialism favorably. In a July survey by The Washington Post and Ipsos, 39% of Americans said they would consider supporting a socialist candidate in a presidential election.
“It has been building since the 2008 financial crisis, when many people, especially young people, began to wonder: ‘Maybe capitalism, or what we now call neoliberalism, isn’t working,'” said historian Michael Kazin, quoted by the French daily. The popularity of socialist ideas then grew thanks to the left-wing Occupy Wall Street movement and Sanders’ presidential campaigns.
Le Monde noted that some left-wing intellectuals criticize the Democrats’ strategy to date, which has focused on emphasizing the rights of individual minority groups and representing them. They argue that concentrating on identity issues (including sexual and ethnic ones) distracted from income and wealth inequality, making it harder to build broader support among working people regardless of their background.
The paper pointed out that the demands of American socialists, which include universal access to health care and affordable housing, are often closer to the platforms of European social democracy than to revolutionary Marxism. Within the DSA itself, however, there are significant ideological differences, and the organization faces a dilemma over how to reconcile its goals with the need to win broader electoral support.
According to research by the American magazine Jacobin, cited by Le Monde, the left can win back some working-class voters if it focuses its message primarily on wages, employment, prices and housing, without giving up its demands on minority rights.
On Tuesday, the United States will hold congressional elections, in which Americans will choose all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 senators.
The Republican Party currently holds the majority in both chambers. Polls indicate, however, that the party of President Donald Trump may lose its majority in the House of Representatives and, according to some surveys, in the Senate as well. (PAP)
