Tiffany Smiley and Richard Fowler discuss the rise of socialism in the Democratic Party, focusing on Colorado primaries and candidates aligned with Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). They address how candidates aligned with DSA impact the party's unity and whether their policies contribute to crime spikes in blue cities.
A handful of Tuesday's primaries in the Democrat-dominated Rocky Mountain state are the next battleground in the fight between the far left and the center-left establishment over the future of the Democratic Party.
"Today, the East Coast, next week the Mountain West," the DSA wrote in a social media post last week, hours after their ballot-box victories in a handful of congressional primaries in New York City.
The post came after DSA-aligned Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old far-left community organizer, ousted incumbent Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, another democratic socialist, won a congressional primary by defeating an establishment-backed candidate.
VICTORIES BY MAMDANI-BACKED CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES SPOTLIGHTS GROWING RIFT IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at King's Theater on June 18, 2026, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The victories by Chevalier and Valdez, who were heavily supported by democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, further emboldened the far left as it takes on the center-left establishment in a high-stakes battle for the future of the Democratic Party.
The DSA is now looking to replicate its playbook across the country, starting Tuesday in the Democratic primary in Colorado's 1st Congressional District, a solidly blue seat a
