An illustration highlights proposals in the Democratic Socialists of America’s platform, including public ownership, universal healthcare, reduced immigration enforcement and limits on federal institutions. | Image by DX

Democratic socialism is often presented through popular proposals such as Medicare for All, higher wages and stronger unions. The Democratic Socialists of America’s official 2025-2026 platform, however, goes considerably further.

Its “Workers Deserve More” program calls for public ownership of major corporations, an end to immigrant detention and deportations, voting rights for noncitizens, limits on Supreme Court judicial review and a new constitution based on a single federal legislature.

These proposals appear in DSA’s national program and are tied directly to the organization’s endorsement rules for candidates seeking office in the 2026 elections.

The label debate and DSA’s internal factions

Recent national coverage has focused on whether Republican use of the word “communist” accurately describes democratic socialists. DSA says it follows a “democratic road to socialism” and rejects what it calls “authoritarian visions of socialism.”

In plain terms, the organization says it intends to pursue socialism through democratic political activity rather than one-party rule. That is DSA’s description of itself, not a conclusion about every faction operating inside it.

An openly communist faction operates within DSA. Red Star identifies itself as a Marxist-Leninist caucus whose primary goal is to abolish capitalism and ultimately achieve communism. It says capitalism cannot be reformed into socialism but must be “overthrown and replaced,” and describes DSA as the best incubator among existing U.S. socialist organizations for a future vanguard party.

Red Star does not speak for every DSA member or endorsed candidate, but its stated revolutionary goals complicate portrayals of DSA as merely a campaign for expanded public services.

Platform calls for public control of major industries

The program says DSA wants a socialist society in which basic needs are guaranteed and the largest corporations operate under “public ownership and democratic control.” It also calls for public ownership of major transportation and energy infrastructure and natural resources.

In practical terms, that would move control of major companies and infrastructure away from private shareholders and toward government or other publicly controlled bodies. The platform does not identify which corporations would be placed under public ownership, how owners would be compensated or how the transition would occur.

The economic agenda also includes a 32-hour workweek with no reduction in pay or benefits, stronger union powers, higher taxes on wealthy earners and corporations, taxes on large inheritances and private universities, and a new wealth tax.

Free services, debt cancellation and universal rent control

DSA supports Medicare for All with no premiums, co-pays or deductibles and guarantees for what the document calls “reproductive and gender-affirming care.”

Its housing and education planks call for universal rent control, taxpayer-funded social housing, a guaranteed right to counsel for every tenant, tuition-free public colleges, no out-of-pocket room-and-board costs and cancellation of all student loan debt.

The platform also promises free universal childcare and pre-K and expansive paid family leave, along with large public spending programs tied to the Green New Deal.

The document identifies tax increases as part of its funding approach, but it does not provide a comprehensive price tag, tax schedule or implementation timeline for the full package.

Free migration, no deportations and voting rights for noncitizens

DSA’s immigration plank calls for workers to migrate between countries without restrictive immigration controls. It seeks to demilitarize the border, end all immigrant detention and deportations, grant immediate amnesty to every immigrant regardless of current status and provide immigrants access to jobs, labor protections and social services.

The document does not use the phrase “open borders,” but its stated policy would eliminate several core federal tools for restricting unlawful entry and removing people who violate immigration law. Current federal law classifies people present in violation of U.S. law, along with some noncitizens convicted of serious offenses, as deportable.

DSA also calls for full voting rights for noncitizens and people with criminal convictions, along with statehood for Washington, D.C. Federal law currently prohibits noncitizens from voting in elections for president, vice president and Congress, subject to limited exceptions, meaning that part of the platform would require a change in federal law.

A new constitution and limits on Supreme Court power

DSA says its goal is a new constitution based on proportional representation in a “single federal legislature” that would also “end the role of money in politics.” The current Constitution creates a bicameral Congress consisting of the House and Senate, so replacing it with one federal legislative chamber would require a fundamental constitutional overhaul.

The platform also calls for replacing the Electoral College with a national popular vote, expanding the House, ending the Senate filibuster and reducing the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review.

Judicial review is the authority of federal courts to declare government actions unconstitutional. DSA argues the Court uses that power to create or abolish laws outside the legislative process. Limiting it would reduce the judiciary’s ability to invalidate actions taken by Congress, the president or state governments.

Proposals that would require constitutional change

Several DSA proposals would require constitutional change or raise major constitutional questions:

Single federal legislature: Article I establishes a House and Senate, while Article V protects each state’s equal representation in the Senate. Replacing Congress with one chamber would require a fundamental constitutional overhaul.

National popular vote: Article II and the 12th Amendment establish the presidential elector system. Eliminating it would require a constitutional amendment.

Limits on judicial review: Congress can adjust federal court jurisdiction in some circumstances, but broadly removing courts’ authority to invalidate unconstitutional government actions would raise major Article III and separation-of-powers issues.

Crime policy would eliminate cash bail and mandatory minimums

The criminal justice plank calls for abolishing cash bail and mandatory minimum sentences, demilitarizing police departments and treating drug addiction as a health issue rather than a crime.

The 2025-2026 “Workers Deserve More” program does not expressly call for abolishing police departments or prisons. DSA separately promotes “defunding the police/refunding communities,” and its National Political Committee chartered an Abolish ICE Committee to develop a national priority campaign.

The program would substantially change pretrial release, sentencing rules, drug enforcement and the equipment available to police agencies.

Foreign policy would pull back American military and economic power

DSA calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to U.S. military and economic aid and weapons sales to Israel, recognition of the authority of the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, and national sovereignty for the Palestinian people.

The platform also calls for sharply reducing the military budget, closing overseas bases, bringing American troops home and ending economic sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela and Iran. Those policies would substantially reduce the American military presence abroad and eliminate several tools Washington currently uses to support allies and pressure hostile governments.

The platform is tied directly to DSA-backed candidates

The platform is not merely an internal discussion paper. DSA’s updated national endorsement criteria ask candidates to commit to the program, publicly identify as socialists and view themselves as “socialist organizers first, and legislators second.”

Candidates seeking national support are also expected to recruit members, grow their local DSA chapters and caucus with other DSA-backed officeholders when applicable. In return, the organization may provide fundraising, communications, phone banking, canvassing and policy support.

That means a DSA endorsement involves more than policy alignment. Under the organization’s own rules, endorsed candidates are expected to recruit members, grow local chapters, develop DSA leaders and coordinate with other endorsed officeholders. Elected office therefore serves both as a governing role and as a vehicle for expanding the socialist movement.

In a March 2 publication, DSA’s Democratic Left counted almost 90 endorsees in the 2026 election cycle, including more than a dozen congressional candidates. A 2017 essay published by DSA argued that Democratic primaries often provide the easiest path for socialists to win office, even as the organization’s current platform says neither major party can deliver its goals.

The current program also says relying on Democrats to defeat Republicans “isn’t working” and that an independent political party rooted in the working-class majority is necessary. That position creates a tension between DSA’s long-term call for an independent party and its continued use of Democratic primaries to elect socialist candidates.

Prominent DSA officeholders and candidates

DSA’s own election coverage has identified the following officeholders and candidates as members of, or candidates backed by, its electoral movement:

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York)

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani

Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, a DSA-backed candidate for Congress

New York Assemblymember Claire Valdez, a DSA-backed candidate for Congress

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a DSA-backed candidate for Congress

D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, a DSA-backed mayoral candidate

DSA’s publication described Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Rabb, Valdez and Avila Chevalier as its expected five-member U.S. House bloc, barring losses in the November election. It also highlighted the electoral victories of Mamdani and Lewis George as major gains for the socialist movement.

The ideological split is already visible inside the Democratic Party. Thirteen moderate Democratic lawmakers and candidates recently signed a pledge declaring, “We are capitalist, not socialist,” as previously reported by The Dallas Express.

The agenda has a North Texas footprint

DSA’s organizing is not confined to Washington or New York. Members of Democratic Socialists of America North Texas joined local activists opposing DART withdrawal efforts, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.

A co-founder of San Antonio DSA has also argued that socialist candidates can use city politics to build power in Texas, pointing to large urban centers as fertile ground for the movement, as DX previously reported.

Taken together

DSA presents its program as a democratic effort to give workers greater control over government and the economy. Its proposals, however, extend far beyond expanding social services or strengthening unions.

The platform would alter private ownership, immigration enforcement, voting eligibility, criminal justice policy, American military power and the constitutional structure of the federal government.

DSA also includes openly Marxist-Leninist factions such as Red Star, which describes its goal as abolishing capitalism and ultimately achieving communism, although that faction does not represent every member or candidate.

As DSA-backed candidates seek office in 2026, the central question is no longer whether the organization has influence inside the Democratic Party. It is how much of this program its candidates would attempt to enact once elected.