As the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) rack up electoral wins nationwide, the group's Western Massachusetts branch is seeing more interest in their working-class-focused politics.
The DSA operates in Western Massachusetts through it's River Valley Chapter, which recently hit 500 members across Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden Counties. Sasha Morsmith is the chapter's co-chair — she said many voters are looking for politicians who prioritize workers and low-income communities.
"I think that people are tired of politicians that make promises they have no intention of keeping, or who say one thing when talking to working class voters, and a different thing when talking to their wealthy donors," Morsmith said. "DSA candidates don't talk to wealthy donors, we don't have them."
The DSA has its roots in the 1970s, but has skyrocketed into the mainstream political arena in the last year through a series of election wins. Most notably, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani raised the DSA's profile by overcoming former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2025. Since then, DSA-endorsed candidates have toppled Democratic incumbents in primary elections in New York and Colorado.
Those wins often position DSA candidates in opposition to the Democratic Party. Morsmith said the two groups are in tension, as the DSA wants to see more radical change than the Democratic Party has been able to deliver in the age of Donald Trump.
"I think that the centrist policies... promoted by establishment Democrats is what led us to Trump," Morsmith said. "I think they recognize that [the DSA is] a threat because we are speaking to the issues that motivate many of the people who vote in Democratic Party primaries."
Morsmith said the DSA wants to see a more radical, structural re-arranging of the way governments serve people, with a focus on workers. The River Valley Chapter has put much of its energy into local labor unions and tenant organizing. The group's socialist model takes aim at powerful private enterprise, and the individual titans of industry that have developed substantial political influence.
"Billionaires control access to basic human needs like housing, healthcare, and education, and make a profit off of them," the DSA wrote in its 2025-2026 national program, 'Workers Deserve More.' "This capitalist economic system is the cause of violence, unemployment, and a climate crisis that poses an existential threat to life on earth."
Morsmith said that national platform trickles down to local cities and towns. She highlighted two key local election wins by DSA-endorsed candidates: Jill Brevik for Amherst town council, and Tom Hendrickson for Agawam city council. She said these local wins are dual purpose: they raise DSA visibility locally, and serve as a foundation for future campaigns.
"Campaigns like the ones in Agawam and Amherst that we ran last year help us not only connect at the local level, but it also helps us build towards some of the bigger electoral wins," Morsmith said.
The River Valley Chapter's main focus ahead of the November election is a ballot initiative that would tighten how much tax revenue the state could collect each year, and make it easier to trigger tax refunds. The local DSA chapter opposes the measure, arguing it will harm funding for various public programs in Massachusetts.