The AOC Question

Navigating Power and Building DSA

*Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks to UPS workers during a 'practice picket line' on July 7, 2023, in the Queens borough of New York City, ahead of a possible UPS strike.*

When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stepped onto the stage at the 2024 Democratic Convention, the energy of the crowd was electric. I watched, captivated and frankly stunned, as the packed arena chanted, “AOC! AOC!” Here was the most visible face of democratic socialism in the United States, commanding the spotlight at the Democratic Party’s marquee event. Clearly, something had shifted. But was it the Democratic Party that had changed—or AOC herself?

Her speech gave a disquieting answer. She started strong with a compelling story of her working-class roots, “Six years ago I was taking omelet orders as a waitress in New York City. I didn’t have health insurance. My family was fighting off foreclosure and we were struggling with bills after my dad passed away unexpectedly from cancer.” Only a few minutes later, she praised Kamala Harris and the Biden administration for “working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza,” a characterization that felt painfully out of step with the reality of the crisis that she herself had labeled a “genocide,” and a betrayal of the movements that propelled her to Congress.

For many mainstream Democrats, the convention showcased AOC’s singular potential, with comparisons drawn to Barack Obama’s breakout moment at the 2004 DNC. But for us on the left, it underscored the risks of AOC and others being captured by an institution that is famously the graveyard of movements.

As the election wore on, it became clear that the Democratic Party had not changed at all. After the convention, the Harris campaign turned to the same DC-consultant “pivot to the center” we’ve seen time and time again, resulting in a collapse of support for Democrats and a devastating loss to Donald Trump. As people look to fight Trump in the face of yet another catastrophic defeat of the Democratic Party, many are turning to DSA, but many more are looking to AOC. She has the potential to bring new energy and recruits into DSA, but bridging the gap between AOC, other elected officials, and DSA will require disciplined organizing and a fundamental shift in how we navigate power.

Brand Over Movement

AOC’s stunning 2018 victory over machine Democrat Joe Crowley felt like a breakthrough—not just for her, but for DSA as the largest socialist organization in the country. It brought hope to me and many others who had been demoralized by two years of Donald Trump and a Republican trifecta in congress. Her rapid ascent, powered by personal charisma and groundbreaking use of social media, carved out space for ideas like the Green New Deal in the halls of Congress. One of her first actions as an elected official was to participate in a sit-in in Nancy Pelosi’s office with young climate activists. Her election felt palpably like a turning of the tide. She became a global figure for democratic socialism, capable of rallying millions to her cause.

*AOC at her victory party as results came in. From* *The New Yorker*.

Yet, throughout her tenure, we’ve seen how her personal brand and individual brilliance has tended to overshadow any collaboration with movement organizations, especially ones that have the politics of DSA. AOC’s celebrity has elevated causes like Medicare For All and the Green New Deal to the mainstream, but also left her isolated from the collective strength of the socialist movement that is the base for those demands. While she has sought and overwhelmingly gotten DSA’s endorsement in the past, her more recent relationship with the organization is rocky at best. On the national level, AOC is all but unendorsed by the organization, though she remains endorsed and supported by the NYC chapter. Even in NYC, her office has been reluctant to work closely with the organization except in standout, one-off cases. Moments like her DNC speech, just eight years after her rousing victory over an establishment Democrat, are a result of this isolation.

In a way we’ve all grown accustomed to, the speech set off a flurry of visceral online reaction. In moments like these, the rush to blame figures like AOC for their compromises is instantaneous and ranges from expressing disappointment to attacks that are nearly indistinguishable from those of the worst right-wing trolls. The throughline through all of them: a call for “accountability.” These reactions feel righteous in the moment but often miss a crucial point: DSA has failed to build the infrastructure necessary to counteract the institutional pressures that pull elected officials like AOC toward compromise.

Beyond Accountability

Institutional pressure is not an earthquake; it’s erosion. It grinds away slowly and persistently, wearing down principles and ideals over time. Earthquakes demand immediate responses, but erosion requires long-term planning and sustained effort. DSA’s mistake has been treating every political rupture—a controversial vote, a public misstep—as an earthquake, reacting to crises instead of addressing the structural conditions that enable compromise.

In this context, “accountability” has become a pervasive approach to engaging with elected officials. The common sentiment is “Our elected officials would respond to DSA if we were actually able to hold them accountable.” But accountability isn’t what drives their response—organizing, or the lack of it, does. When we rely on an accountability framework that ignores the harsh and often contradictory realities of wielding power, we trade material analysis for empty moralism. The accountability-first approach isolates allies, fosters division, and turns solidarity into finger-pointing. Criticism has its place, but critiques alone do not counteract the erosion caused by institutional pressures; they are part of it.

The goal for DSA’s electoral program must be that DSA-endorsed candidates deliver material victories while ensuring their campaigns and time in office serve as vehicles for organizing, recruitment, and popularizing socialism. Winning and building cannot be separate goals. To accomplish this, we must build the “breakwater,” a structure designed to absorb and redirect the relentless, eroding pressures of governing in a hostile system. We must move beyond accountability and toward a model that actively integrates elected officials into DSA instead of relying on punishment or admonishment as the primary vehicle for engagement with them: co-governance.

Building Co-Governance

Programs like New York’s Socialist in Office (SiO) committee provide a model for what this can look like. SiO offers policy support, collective strategizing, and a dependable base of organized members who work alongside elected officials, allowing socialists in office to govern effectively while staying rooted in and building DSA. This structure has helped secure significant victories in New York, including the passage of the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA), the most ambitious socialist climate legislation in the country, a successful campaign to block the nomination of a conservative Chief Judge in New York State, raising taxes on the rich at the height of the pandemic, and winning crucial tenant protections. These wins are a testament to the power of collaboration between elected officials and the broader movement.

This is not to say that the task of co-governance is easy or that good results are guaranteed. It takes sustained effort from dozens of members from various parts of the organization and New York State to maintain the committee and align the interests of different offices and their constituencies. Over time, the committee has refined its approach, focusing on clearer communication, stronger coordination, and a shared vision of socialism in practice.

This is a strong foundation, but until we develop the capacity to provide institutional support, resources, and strategic cover for our elected officials at the national level, calls for accountability will continue to ring hollow. What we need is a national breakwater to counter the relentless erosion of institutional pressures—a framework that not only protects and strengthens our elected officials but also keeps them deeply connected to the movement and working class politics that brought them into office.

Bridging The Gap

When AOC ran for Congress in 2018, NYC-DSA did not yet have a structure like SiO to support and integrate elected officials into the movement. Her campaign predated the creation of a framework for co-governance, meaning she entered office without the expectations, resources, or guidance that would later become standard for DSA-endorsed candidates in New York State. These candidates were recruited with the explicit expectation of participating in SiO, running campaigns built on the understanding that their work in office would remain closely tied to DSA.

This tradition of co-governance is part of what makes Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for New York City mayor so exciting. Zohran was recruited to run for Assembly as a DSA candidate, part of NYC-DSA’s growing strategy to elect socialists who are deeply rooted in the organization. Since his election, he has actively participated in New York’s SiO program, prioritizing collaboration between elected officials and DSA.

*Zohran Mamdani at the launch of his NYC mayor campaign. @zohrankmamdani*.

Zohran’s campaign is not just about winning an election; it’s an organizing opportunity. It has the potential to leverage millions in matching funds, organize thousands of New Yorkers, and amplify a bold socialist vision for the city. His campaign understands that power isn’t something to fear, it’s something to wield strategically and collectively. With NYC-DSA’s political support and resources at their backs, our officials can take big swings, like running as a declared socialist candidate for mayor of New York City. Zohran’s campaign is a testament to what we can achieve when elected officials and DSA work together, and is something we should aim to replicate nationwide.

We began this era of socialists in office by electing the most visible and famous socialist elected in the U.S. in decades—a level of prominence that has often put DSA on the backfoot in its relationship with AOC. Her celebrity status amplifies and complicates the pressures she faces in office and makes the prospect of retrofitting an SiO-like structure with her office more challenging.

It’s clear that some erosion has already taken place—her trajectory and proximity to power make that inevitable. But I don’t believe we’ve reached the point of no return. AOC’s sheer political talent and the fact that so many in the mainstream associate her directly with our politics make her too important to give up. Structures like the Federal SiO Committee recently ratified at this year’s NYC-DSA convention and the recently announced mass call with AOC and NYC-DSA are a start at repairing the erosion and ensuring that the face of modern American socialism is working with the largest socialist organization in the country in meaningful ways.

Act Like A Party

A successful electoral project for DSA means rejecting individualistic notions of accountability, moralistic criticism, and finger-pointing that isolate rather than organize. Instead, we must build a politics that embraces the contradictions of power and treats it as something to be shaped, not feared.

This is what mass political parties around the world have done to great success. In countries with vibrant leftist movements, parties like Podemos in Spain, the Workers’ Party in Brazil and Morena in Mexico (the only incumbent party to survive the recent worldwide anti-incumbency wave) have demonstrated the power of collective structures that unite elected officials, grassroots organizers, and broader movements. These parties didn’t just rely on individual brilliance or charisma; they cultivated disciplined organizations capable of amplifying socialist ideals and won. Their victories, though not without setbacks, show what is possible when movements organize themselves into coherent, effective forces that bridge the gap between elections and governing.

*Supporters of Morena candidate (and now President) Claudia Sheinbaum rally in Mexico City. AP.*

DSA has the potential to do the same, but only if we commit to acting like a party. This means institutionalizing programs like Socialists in Office, creating a national framework that protects and empowers elected officials, and deepening the bonds between members, campaigns, and elected representatives. It requires us to treat electoral politics not as a series of one-off battles but as part of a long-term strategy to build power and deliver material victories for the working class.

We have the tools: programs like Socialist in Office, campaigns rooted in collective action, and a dedicated membership that believes in a transformative socialist vision. What we need now is the discipline and infrastructure to wield those tools effectively. Acting like a party is more than a slogan; it’s a strategy for survival and growth. If we do this right, we won’t just resist erosion—we’ll build the foundation for a socialist movement capable of reshaping the landscape entirely. Staring down the barrel of a new and empowered Trump administration, the stakes could not be higher, but neither could the opportunity. Let’s rise to meet it.