“Unhinged”: Defeated Dems Crash Out Against Victorious NYC-DSA in Search for Answers
New York's political power structure has shifted. Some people are not happy.
Following NYC-DSA’s overwhelming victories in June’s Democratic primary elections, a constellation of defeated Democratic candidates, staff, volunteers, and officials have struggled to make sense of the community’s embrace of Democratic Socialist candidates.
Several notable establishment Democrats have tapped into identitarian sentiments to explain their steep losses, claiming DSA candidates are not representative of New York communities.
Those attacks were exemplified by Manhattan Democratic Party First Vice-Chair Mariama James, who recently came fifth in the race for Assembly District 65, 26 points behind DSA victor Illapa Sairitupac.
James’ semi-viral post says that DSA “members share a collective White supremacist I know better for you than you know for yourself mindset,”, and that DSA is anti-woman, anti-Jewish, anti-East Asian, and anti-Black. The Portland, Oregon DSA called the post “unhinged.”
In June, DSA elected 5 additional women (Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, Diana Moreno, Aber Kawas, Samantha Kattan), a queer Jewish person (David Orkin), and three black candidates (Darializa Avila Chevalier, Eon Huntley, Christian Celeste Tate). NYC-DSA has not publicly commented on James’ posts.
Mariama James did not respond to State of the Left’s multiple requests for comment.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards launched a similar attack last week, writing on X: “White Supremacy comes in all forms.” Richards was reposting an image from NY1 Anchor Errol Lewis in which Lewis posted a screenshot from a recent New York Times article that cites an unverified 2021 survey of DSA members claiming 85% of members were white. The DSA does not collect member data, and it is not clear what the other metrics of the alleged survey are.
Richards proceeded to share an image of Malcolm X with a quote about the dangers of “white liberals.”
Richards made two big endorsements in the 2026 election cycle: Antonio Reynoso against Claire Valdez in NY-7 and Steven Raga against Aber Kawas in State Senate District 12. Both of his candidates went on to lose in blowouts to their DSA-endorsed opponents.
When asked by State of the Left if he believes the DSA is a white supremacist organization, Richards never responded. Richards also did not respond when asked why he used a Malcolm X quote in attacking the Democratic Socialists of America, given Malcolm X was known to be highly critical of Capitalism.
Clare Collins
Clare Collins, a 25-year-old Filipino-American and volunteer for Steven Raga’s campaign for New York State Senate District 12, recently featured in a semi-viral video from America Listen, where she articulated her frustrations with DSA. Raga was defeated by DSA-endorsed Aber Kawas in SD-12 in western Queens by a margin of 20.8%.
Collins’ video echoes James’ and Richards’ attacks on DSA members:
“Ever since Mamdani got elected, it’s been moving very cult-like. It’s gotten a little culty—and I’m saying this as a blue hair, DSA member. Very white, privileged people, going into these communities of color and knocking on the doors and telling them, “You need to vote for this person, I know what’s best for you.” There were certain candidates they did not need to be running against that were very progressive and actually from those communities. Zohran’s not a god, he’s a politician. Hold him accountable, every step of the way. Don’t idolize any politician.”
It’s true that all politicians should be held accountable, but what about the other parts of her claim? Is DSA white and privileged, and is canvassing in a community white saviorism?
State of the Left reached Collins for an extensive phone interview, where she clarified that a key concern for her was that local communities should decide for themselves what they want. This, to her, is fundamentally at odds with canvassing outside of one’s district. Collins also added that while many DSA members may not be wealthy, they are mostly college-educated and able to move anywhere, unencumbered by their immigration status.
According to membership numbers sent in to Brian Lehrer’s radio show by NYC-DSA on July 24, 2026 and read on air, the city-wide chapter sits at around 50% people of color. The Bronx and Upper Manhattan branch (BUM) has 65% POC membership according to the figures. State of the Left has not independently reviewed these numbers or any other source document. Brian Lehrer reads the figures starting around 24:30 in the episode.
State of the Left would like to acknowledge that River Shi, a cadre DSA member and editor with State of the Left, edits under a pseudonym out of concern for their current immigration status amidst the Trump Administration’s federal crackdowns.
DSA endorsement processes and the Senate District 12 Campaign
Clare Collins made it clear many of her frustrations articulated in the video stem from the recent race between Aber Kawas and State Assemblymember Steven Raga in State Senate District 12.
Collins became a DSA member in 2025 and canvassed for Zohran’s mayoral campaign in 2025. While actively involved in community board meetings through her job with a local elected official, and on the board of a Filipino-American non-profit, she is not involved in her local DSA chapter or working groups, and has not voted in any DSA endorsement processes, which are open to all members in good standing.
Collins feels that DSA should have endorsed Raga because he is a DSA member who had been previously elected in the community, and expressed frustration, feeling that DSA “only trust the people that have been in their organization for a very long time to receive the endorsement.”
She also noted that Raga is the only Filipino ever elected in the state of New York, to any office. “[His office is] the only government office that gives services in Tagalog, the language of the Philippines. I don’t know where those constituents are gonna get help now.”
Heavily-involved Queens DSA member Sara Abiboutrous, who voted to endorse Aber Kawas, said she supported Kawas based on her track record, and expressed concern with Raga’s early lack of support for Not on Our Dime.
“I put my support behind Aber because her track record earned my trust. She has taken positions that are morally correct but politically unpopular, and that type of selflessness is important to voters. She helped draft Not On Our Dime with then Assemblyman Mamdani. It’s important to elect leaders who have that courage. Unfortunately, the candidate she was running against seemed to lack the bold leadership we need right now.
He declined to sponsor Not On Our Dime as an Assemblyman and defended that position as he sought endorsements from progressive organizations that championed the bill. He finally chose to sponsor it during the primary and it seemed more for his own political gain. That switcharoo, combined with also voting for the Casino in Queens, left people wondering what he even stood for. ”
Assemblymember Raga did not return State of the Left’s request for comment.
Making Sense of the Election Results
Collins pointed to a myriad of factors in her explanation of the June results, in which communities across New York chose to vote for NYC-DSA candidates by overwhelming margins:
low voter turnout (particularly in NY-7 and among lower-income constituents in SD-12)
low awareness
waning union influence (particularly in SD-12). “I think in this particular race, those people weren’t voting. For whatever reason, they did not vote.”
State of the Left was unable to verify Collins’ claims that: NY-7 saw historically low voter turnout; that Steven Raga received over 50 union endorsements; and that union members did not vote in SD-12 or across New York.
Clare Collins said she is a member of DC37 and is about to begin her masters at the CUNY School of Labor, a decision “largely informed by the result of this race.”
What Does the Future Hold for DSA and New York Politics?
Looking at the words of Mariama James, Donovan Richards, and Clare Collins together, there is a mixture of anger and confusion as different factions, groups, and types of people try to make sense of NYCDSA’s overwhelming victories on June 23, 2026.
Figures of the Democratic Establishment like James and Richards are lashing out as their place in the political system as ideologically conservative Democrats becomes increasingly untenable in the new political reality. In the case of Mariama James, her ascendency to Assemblymember was literally blocked by Illapa Sairitupac, and three other candidates who collected more votes than her.
Clare Collins presents a more nuanced case, where someone who signed up to pay DSA dues with an affinity for another paper DSA member ended up on the opposite side of a DSA-endorsed candidate.
Ultimately, when asked if she felt that the attacks on the DSA were productive or warranted, Collins said: “Probably not. I’m sure it would be in the best interest of the Republican Party if the Democratic Party moved more moderate, like they did in the last election, so they lose again.”
It is not clear where people like Collins will land in the future, with the establishment or with DSA. What is clear, however, is that DSA has emerged as an electoral force mobilizing a genuinely massive coalition within Democratic primaries on a scale New York politics has not seen in many decades, if ever.
I was proud to support the full slate of DSA candidates in Sunnyside, doing 2 turfs there while going on to knock around 1000 doors across the whole City. On a rainy Sunday in mid-April on my first turf of the cycle in Sunnyside, one of my first conversations was an older man who was a member of the local Carpenters union. My canvassing partner from Jewish Voices for Peace, Jordan, was with me as we were the first canvassers to be out speaking to these voters, and we had a lovely conversation with the union member. I stressed how deeply Claire, Aber, and Samantha care for unions and how they will work to support greater union density and union empowerment. We spoke about many subjects and he committed to vote for all of our candidates without too much convincing, to be honest. He was simply happy to see younger people who cared so passionately, trying to make the world a better place with Democratic Socialist principles that actually made a lot of sense. I cannot know if he actually ended up voting or not. But if he did, I am certain it was for us.
I am also certain Clare Collins, and perhaps others who share her convictions, may have strong feelings reading these words. After all, I don’t live in Queens. Why should I have been canvassing there? It is a fair point, and here is my answer.
This world is on fire. Headed towards a dark and unsustainable future unless we drastically change course, and quickly.
This campaign saw legitimate villains like Jenifer Rajkumar. There were also candidates like Antonio Reynoso or Steven Raga who, in my view, are not bad people, but actively good people. They simply would not go as hard against the increasingly powerful special interests suffocating our society in pursuit of their various nefarious goals.
As Queens DSA member Sara Abiboutrous said: “This idea that candidates and politicians are owed endorsements or votes is opposite to how a democracy should function. It’s pretty clear that voters across the country want leaders who are authentic and who are capable of being courageous leaders. Aber proved she fit that criteria.”
With Antonio Reynoso, we would’ve had a well-intentioned guy who might consider the viewpoints of the worst special interests of our time, or consider endorsing other far less Progressive Democrats for important seats in the future, before making a decision. For those special interests and untrustworthy individuals, Claire Valdez is an absolute brick wall. I believe she, and the rest of the victorious DSA slate, will lead us in opposing these forces at all costs—and there is no greater battle of our time.
While I respect Clare Collins’s perspective, there is no way I will be on the sidelines as the future of our country, and our very world, is determined. I committed hundreds of votes to the DSA slate in 2026 across the city. Regardless of where I was from, or what my demographic identity is, every one of those voters were just happy someone, anyone, CARED.
This upcoming weekend, my NYC-DSA comrades and I are traveling to Detroit, Michigan to canvass, combating AIPAC’s obscene tens of millions of dark money funds against Abdul El-Sayed and Donovan McKinney. When it comes to making a better world, nobody said it better than Christian Celeste Tate at Nowadays last Friday at NYC-DSA’s victory party: “If we wait for somebody to bring that world to us…we will never see it.”
So, the next canvass awaits. And maybe, just maybe, Clare Collins will be at our side for it. We would be lucky to have her.
Editing Credit: River Shi
Writing Credit: River Shi
Thank you River!