🐴 Why the DSA Isn’t a Political Party—And Why That’s a Feature, Not a Bug

—Hint: It’s a Trojan Horse strategy to take over the Democrats

In politics, as in war, the most effective conquests happen from the inside.

That’s why, if you go looking to register as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in your state, you’ll come up empty. You can’t do it—not in New York, not in California, not anywhere. The DSA doesn’t show up on voter registration forms. It doesn’t appear on ballots. It doesn’t run its own candidates—at least not under its own name. And it’s not because they forgot to file some paperwork with the Board of Elections.

It’s because this is deliberate. The DSA doesn’t want to be a political party. It wants to take over an existing one—namely, the Democratic Party.

Call it entryism, call it Trojan Horse politics, or call it what it really is: an ideological hostile takeover strategy.

Not a Bug, a Tactic

DSA candidates don’t campaign as “Democratic Socialists.” They campaign as “Democrats.” They seek the Democratic Party nomination. They run in Democratic primaries. They raise money and mobilize volunteers under the DSA banner—but when it comes time to file with election officials, they hitch a ride on the Democratic ballot line.

That’s not an accident. It’s the plan. The DSA, which has ballooned in membership and influence since the Bernie Sanders moment of 2016, knows that starting a third party in the U.S. is an uphill battle on an icy slope. Ballot access laws, signature requirements, campaign finance hurdles, and institutional inertia make third-party runs almost always symbolic gestures—or kamikaze missions.

But if you run as a Democrat in a deep-blue district—especially a low-turnout primary—then you’ve got a real shot. That’s how Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unseated Joe Crowley in Queens. That’s how DSA-backed state legislators like Zoran Mamdani in New York and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa in Chicago got elected. That’s how the DSA came to control 20% of the Chicago City Council, all without ever forming a formal political party.

Who Needs a Party When You’ve Got a Host?

The DSA is not a political party because being one would be an encumbrance. If it had to stand on its own platform, run under its own name, and field its own candidates in general elections, it would lose. Badly. Most Americans—even many Democrats—don’t support the DSA’s more radical positions: abolishing prisons, eliminating borders, nationalizing industries, decriminalizing all drugs, or defunding the police. Even the term “socialist” still polls poorly across most demographics.

But label them “Democrats” and hide the ideology under layers of euphemism, and voters in left-leaning cities often don’t realize what they’re voting for—until it’s too late.

You think you’re voting for a liberal.

You’re getting a Marxist with better PR.

And this isn’t conjecture. The DSA is explicit about its strategy. Its own platform encourages members to “run on the Democratic Party ballot line” while remaining accountable to DSA chapters. In effect, they’re party-surfing—riding the Democratic brand to gain office, then using that office to advance a completely different ideological agenda.

The Math Behind the Movement

In many major cities, the math works in their favor. In districts where general elections are a foregone conclusion, the real battle happens in Democratic primaries. And those primaries often see turnout below 20%. That means a few thousand votes—often mobilized by passionate DSA organizers—can swing an entire race. Especially when the competition is a complacent incumbent or a fractured liberal field.

If you were trying to transform American politics, would you spend your time building a third party from scratch—or would you find a way to commandeer the existing one?

Now you understand the DSA.

Trojan Horse Politics

So no, the DSA doesn’t appear on your registration form. You can’t vote in a DSA primary. You won’t see “Democratic Socialist” under anyone’s name on the ballot. And that’s by design.

Because what they’re doing isn’t building an alternative. They’re infiltrating the mainstream.

They are the Trojan Horse in the Democratic stable—rolling in quietly under a familiar banner, while loaded with a different army entirely.

And if Democrats don’t wake up to it, they’ll wake up one morning and realize their party isn’t theirs anymore. It’s already happening in New York. It’s happening in Chicago. And unless voters get wise, it’s coming to a city hall or school board near you.