WASHINGTON — A former member of the Democratic Socialists of America is warning that the far-left organization’s expanding influence could reshape Democratic politics ahead of the November midterm elections.
Jake Altman told the Times of London that he left the DSA in 2022 after nearly 10 years with the group. His departure followed the organization’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when it called for the United States to withdraw from NATO and described the alliance as “imperialist expansionism that set the stage for this conflict.”
“I felt anger and confirmation that the organization had gone completely off the deep end and there’s nothing to be salvaged,” said Altman, who lives in Michigan. “There’s no point in remaining in an organization that’s been taken over by people like this.”
“There were people who knew better on the inside, and they just did nothing. It’s very similar to what’s happening to the Democratic Party now,” he added.
The DSA’s platform includes abolishing the Senate—a step some scholars argue may not be achievable even through the constitutional amendment process—along with making the president and Supreme Court subservient to Congress and defunding the Pentagon.
Senior DSA figures have also advocated defunding the police, eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement and imposing sanctions on Israel over its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Despite those positions, DSA members have won Democratic primaries in at least six House races. Even more candidates who align with the group’s values have secured victories in contests across the country.
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“My concern is that high-propensity Democratic Party primary voters, who tend to be the most engaged and the most ideological, have become radicalized, particularly the affluent ones. I’m troubled because there’s an underbelly to this movement,” said Altman, who says he is supporting Republican Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s closely watched Senate race.
“My view is we cannot let these extremists get power because they really are dangerous,” he continued. “Even the ones who have good intentions will do things that will have profound consequences for ordinary Americans.”
Altman, a native of Iowa and former union organizer, said he joined the DSA in response to the economic decline that affected the Rust Belt during his childhood in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Times of London reported that the median age of DSA members was about 68 when Altman joined in 2013. By 2018, the median age had been cut in half.
“The Bernie Sanders movement [in 2016] and then AOC’s victory [in 2018] brought a lot of fuel and energy,” Altman said. “It was showing we can actually do this. It was proof of concept that they could achieve their goal, which was to change the Democratic Party.”
Altman now believes the DSA has been taken over by younger radicals. He also warned that “among some hardcore activists, there is a thrill to violence.”
“We need a renaissance of democracy where locals begin to take control back from national organizations that have become very extreme,” he concluded. “We all have a responsibility to try to stop this but I don’t think there are enough people resisting.”
The DSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.