The Democratic Socialists of America want to seize control of the Democratic Party from within.
Andrew Epstein, the campaign strategist behind New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, acknowledged that the group’s long-term objective is to “take over” the party—potentially by backing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for president.
Epstein, 38, recently told Belgian newspaper De Tijd that the DSA hopes to build on a series of victories over the past year, including Mamdani’s election and the expected arrivals of fellow socialists Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez in Congress alongside Ocasio-Cortez.
“I think we want to take over the Democratic Party,” Epstein told the Dutch-language outlet, according to a translation of its Tuesday report.
He argued that the DSA’s path to reshaping the party runs through the White House, with Ocasio-Cortez emerging as the obvious candidate from the group’s perspective.
“I cannot imagine any other politician who can mobilize the electorate needed to win the presidency,” Epstein said, according to De Tijd.
“You can only change a party by putting forward a president,” he added. “Just look at how [President] Trump has transformed the Republicans.”
Epstein served as the spokesperson and creative force behind Mamdani’s Democratic mayoral primary campaign, which propelled the little-known state lawmaker to a stunning upset victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and drew international attention.
He was later removed from the public-facing role during the general election and replaced as Mamdani’s campaign spokesperson.
Even so, Epstein remains a trusted adviser to Mamdani, one of the DSA’s most prominent elected officials in the United States.
More recently, Epstein worked on Valdez’s successful campaign in the June Democratic primary for New York’s 7th Congressional District, which includes parts of western Queens and north Brooklyn.
Mamdani endorsed both Valdez and fellow New York City DSA member Avila Chevalier. Each is considered highly likely to win on November 3 in their overwhelmingly Democratic congressional districts.
The far left is also seeking additional victories in congressional contests next week, including races featuring Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania and Mai Yang and Angela Gonzales-Torres in California.
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Across the country, the DSA is working to expand its roster of elected officials at the state and local levels, encouraged by the socialist momentum many observers associate with Mamdani’s rise in New York City.
Local DSA chapters have endorsed Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman and Janeese Lewis George, who is running for mayor of Washington, DC.
Looking beyond the midterm elections, the New York City DSA has openly expressed support for a potential Ocasio-Cortez presidential campaign in 2028.
Ocasio-Cortez has fueled speculation by traveling around New York state to campaign alongside local Democrats, although she has not formally announced plans to seek the presidency.
The possibility of an Ocasio-Cortez bid has unsettled Democratic leaders and prompted debate within the party’s progressive wing.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is also viewed as a leading contender for the Democratic nomination in 2028, recently cautioned that the DSA could play a major role in the next presidential contest.
“The DSA, the energy and the desire for bold change, not incremental change, is very much going to be the dominant… I mean that is going to be the mainstream Democratic movement. Absolutely. No question in my mind,” Newsom said.
Epstein told De Tijd that he believes the political environment has shifted toward the far left. He said many millennial voters came of age amid the “failure of capitalism” exposed by the 2008 financial crisis and are less concerned about the “problems” historically associated with socialism or communism.
“The association with socialism is no longer a problem, so they now use the word ‘communist,’” he said, describing how critics attack the movement.
“The further we are from the Cold War, the more that anti-socialist culture disappears. Voters want something new now.”
A recent New York Times/Siena poll found that 51% of American voters view socialism unfavorably.
Epstein told The Post that the views expressed in his interview were his own and did not represent the official position of the DSA.
