Veteran campaign strategist Hank Sheinkopf is refashioning his super PAC into an effort to curb the growing influence of the Democratic Socialists of America in New York.
“They’re not Democrats,” said Sheinkopf, who founded the political action committee Protect the Protectors. “They want to take apart the American system.”
The pro-law-enforcement PAC failed to prevent DSA member Zohran Mamdani from winning last year’s New York City mayoral election, even after spending roughly $200,000 during the campaign’s final stretch.
Sheinkopf, a self-described moderate Democrat who worked on former President Bill Clinton’s re-election campaign, accused the DSA of antisemitism, citing in part its support for the controversial boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.
DSA members, including Mamdani, have also accused Israel of genocide during its ongoing military campaign in Gaza.
Some Jewish activists, including the prominent Anti-Defamation League, view BDS as an antisemitic movement aimed at economically undermining the world’s only Jewish state.
Mamdani and the DSA reject the accusation, saying their pro-Palestinian activism and opposition to the Israeli government are not antisemitic.
KEEP READING: Microsoft Warns IT Outage Disruption Could Last Up to 48 Hours
“It always starts with the Jews but it doesn’t end with the Jews,” Sheinkopf said.
He said his organization plans to create a field operation focused on door-to-door canvassing and opposing DSA candidates in future races for the state Legislature, City Council, Congress, and citywide and statewide offices.
Sheinkopf’s initiative comes as the DSA builds momentum through a string of victories nationwide.
DSA members now hold New York City’s mayoralty and four seats on the City Council. By January, the group is expected to have 14 members in the state Legislature and eight in the House of Representatives.
Democratic socialists are already pressing Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was just re-elected in a landslide, to pursue tax increases on wealthy New Yorkers next year.
Last week, DSA candidate Nithya Raman also won the mayoral race in Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest city.
Meanwhile, allies of democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the DSA’s New York City chapter are urging her to seek the presidency.
