California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday became the latest high-profile Democrat to signal support for candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, as socialist-aligned contenders continue to make gains in primary races.
Speaking with Jack Cocchiarella during a livestream on his YouTube channel, Newsom pushed back on the argument that socialist candidates pose a “threat” to the Democratic Party. He compared the current debate to the “purity tests” he said he encountered during his 2003 campaign for mayor of San Francisco.
“This is all familiar, and it’s very healthy,” Newsom said. “I don’t think it’s unhealthy. So, I completely reject this notion. And, look, I’m for addition, not subtraction.”
“The Democratic Party needs to be in the addition business if we’re going to get back into the majority. Yeah, we need to get our base out there. We got to turn out. … I’m not offended by this notion of a big tent.”
Newsom added that the party’s “big tent” approach must apply broadly, including to factions that may be uncomfortable with one another. “I think we’d be better off to look at the things that bind us together, the things we have in common,” he said.
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“And I know the purity tests are going to get tougher and tougher in the next few years. But I am enthusiastic about the success and the energy and the vibrancy that’s happening at the grassroots in this country. I think it’s a healthy damn thing.”
His remarks mirror comments from other Democrats who have argued that socialist candidates should be included within the party’s broader coalition, particularly after socialist-backed candidates notched a series of wins in New York primary elections.
“We have a big tent party, that’s what it says,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told Fox News Digital last month.
“This is a democracy,” he continued. “You’re going to have lots of perspectives. It’s up to the voters to decide, and they did.”
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin also told Fox News Digital he was “all about new leadership” when asked about DSA-backed candidates like Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez defeating incumbent candidates.
Last month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., issued a warning to her Democratic colleagues against discouraging socialist candidates.
“I actually think the more important advice that I would give would be to my incumbent colleagues, which is you will create a self-fulfilling prophecy by deciding who these young women are before you’ve met them,” Ocasio-Cortez said on MS NOW.
