New York City's socialists spent Saturday behind closed doors drawing up their plans for the White House and for Albany.
The NYC chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America passed a string of resolutions at its biennial convention in Midtown, according to the New York Post. One urges Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028, and another lays the groundwork to defeat newly reelected Gov. Kathy Hochul and other establishment Democrats.
The public was barred from the gathering at the AXA Equitable Center, where 438 elected delegates represented the chapter's roughly 15,000 members across the five boroughs. According to some attendees, delegates were told in advance to keep the location quiet and not to discuss the agenda with outsiders.
The Ocasio-Cortez resolution, signed by DSA co-chairs Gustavo Gordillo and Grace Mausser, passed overwhelmingly. Its language was nothing short of adoring, calling the freshly reelected congresswoman one of the "most widely beloved members of the Democratic Party."
Not everyone in the room was on board, but the outcome was never really in doubt. "Some people want her to run and some don't," one delegate said. "The people who wanted her to run won."
Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the progressive "squad," has stayed silent amid growing speculation about a presidential bid. Her silence has done little to cool the enthusiasm of a movement that increasingly sees her as its national standard-bearer.
The more revealing vote may have come during the morning session. Without any debate, delegates approved a consent agenda that included a measure aimed at challenging Hochul, U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, and other mainstream Democrats in future elections.
The resolution, titled "From Buffalo to Brooklyn: Building DSA Electoral Power Statewide," pulls no punches about its targets. "Whereas, 2030 brings the opportunity to challenge Governor Kathleen Hochul, a chief obstacle to the actualization of NYC-DSA's agenda, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, another reactionary Democrat," it reads.
The document also spells out the strategy behind the ambition. "Whereas, contesting high profile races is an effective strategy for expanding DSA's membership, growing our profile, and propagandizing our agenda, proven by races like Mayor Zohran Mamdani's."
Its closing clause sets an aggressive timetable for a group that only recently helped put one of its own in City Hall. "Therefore, be it resolved NYC-DSA will commit to building the necessary relationships and infrastructure to contest statewide races in preparation to run candidates for United States President in 2028, United States Senate in 2028 and 2030, and for New York Governor and Lieutenant Governor in 2030," it states.
The measure drew backing from inside government as well as from activists. Supporters included City Council Member Chi Oss and Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, both of Brooklyn, Queens Assemblywoman Diana Moreno, and Cea Weaver, who directs Mayor Mamdani's Office to Protect Tenants.
The economic wish list that came out of the convention is just as telling. Delegates voted to oppose the expansion of artificial intelligence, to campaign for a city-run public bank, and to lobby for raising New York City's minimum wage from $17 to $30 an hour by 2030.
They also approved a chapter job board and a campaign staffing pipeline, the kind of machinery a movement builds when it intends to field candidates well beyond the five boroughs. For establishment Democrats who have spent years treating the socialists as a useful ally, the message from Midtown was hard to miss.
Representatives for Hochul and Gillibrand did not return messages, and Schumer declined to comment. Ocasio-Cortez has not said whether she will run, but her party's left flank has now made clear it wants her in the 2028 race, and that it is coming for the Democrats it sees as standing in the way.
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