AOC has been silent on the New York City Mayoral Race and it's good

AOC has remained silent on the New York City mayoral race—and we believe it’s important that she stays that way. However, pressure to endorse a candidate will only intensify and you can help.

The Beef Between DSA and SDA

The four major leftist political movements in the United States are all part of global networks.

Two operate outside the Democratic Party: the Green Party, aligned internationally with the Global Greens, and the Communist Party, aligned with the communist Solidarity Network.

Inside the Democratic Party, there are two competing factions: the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the Social Democrats of America (SDA).

DSA aligns with Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Bernie Sanders’ Progressive International, while SDA follows the legacy of Mike Harrington’s DSOC and is affiliated with the Socialist International and the Progressive Alliance.

These four—Greens, Communists, DSA, and SDA—make up what I call the Big Four of the Left. In most countries, one of the four dominates, while the others play a supporting role.

For example, in Chile, a debate hosted at the University of Valparaíso brought together all four: the Communists, the Greens, the Social Democrats, and the Mélenchonistes.

This dynamic plays out globally—everywhere, except in the United States, where Bernie Sanders and AOC’s "Squad" represent themselves as the entire left spectrum.

The United States

The U.S. political landscape may seem complex, but it becomes much clearer once you understand the terrain.

At the local level—especially county by county—one of the Big Four typically manages to gain a foothold. Yet, whether locally or nationally, each remains too small—individually or even collectively—to exert meaningful influence.

Across the country, leftist groups within the Big Four manage to navigate the ballot access process. However, the intricate knowledge required to do so is rarely shared with the other Big Four members.

Since 2016, the Democratic Socialists of America have absorbed activists from across the Big Four, even as the organization drifted away from the core values that initially made it stand out.

Those of us committed to the democratic socialist path laid out by Mike Harrington were gradually sidelined.

In response, we founded SDA to return to those foundational principles—principles that built the DSOC.

This conflict—between Socialists and Mélenchonists—isn’t unique to the U.S. It plays out globally:

• In Spain, between Podemos and the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party.

• In Greece, between Syriza and Panhellenic Socialist Movement.

• In Mexico, between Morena and the traditional PRD/PRI.

• In Chile, between Frente Amplio and the Socialist Party.

• In Switzerland, between Forum Alternatif and the Swiss Socialists.

Wherever you look—France, Chile, the U.S., or beyond—you’ll find the unmistakable friction between Socialists and Mélenchonists: a complex mix of shared goals, ideological divergence, and mutual suspicion that fuels both collaboration and conflict.

AOC and Bernie are the only two worlwide leaders that can bring this conflict to a close.

The Dam initiative

A recent example is the “Dam” initiative in France, a united front between the Socialist Party and the liberal left. La France Insoumise (LFI)—the Mélenchonistes—refused to participate solely because the Socialist Party was involved.

As Le Monde reported:

Yet, amid this context, members of the La France Insoumise (LFI, radical left) party have been absent. On Monday evening, Amirshahi once again mentioned the initiative to the leader of LFI's MPs, Mathilde Panot, who said that the Socialists' presence in the group was a problem, thereby confirming the rift between LFI and its rival left-wing party. Panot also noted that LFI has its own such initiatives.

https://archive.is/x0wcE from https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2025/05/21/french-left-plans-to-create-a-progressive-international-to-fight-against-the-far-right_6741499_7.html

In Europe, Greens and Communists often work alongside Socialists. In the U.S., they are more likely to collaborate with DSA and the Mélenchonist-style left.

The Draft AOC 2028 campaign is our attempt to build a unifying project across all these traditions.

It offers room for both inside and outside strategies: SDA supports working within the Democratic Party; the Greens advocate organizing outside it. There’s no reason we can’t pursue both paths simultaneously.

Back in New York City, only DSA and SDA currently have candidates on the ballot for Mayor.

New York City Municipal election

Back to New York City, out of the Big Four, only DSA and SDA have candidates on the ballot for Mayor of New York City.

After an arduous DSA endorsement process, Zohran Mamdani emerged as the Mélenchonist candidate.

Under SDA’s streamlined bylaws, Paperboy Love Prince became the Socialist candidate.

And then there's the Working Families Party (WFP)—a party that claims to represent the left but in practice endorses whoever placates union leadership, regardless of ideology.

Their endorsements often go to liberal democrats, as long as they say the right things to the right people—not necessarily the rank and file.

Brad Lander, who founded a nonprofit that kept low-income New Yorkers tied to substandard housing, stripping them of equity.

Zellnor Myrie, who played a role in manipulating election laws to uphold the dominance of establishment Democrats and Republicans.

Adrienne Adams, the current Speaker of the City Council, under whose watch corruption in the NYPD and HPD has gone unchallenged.

To preserve some credibility, they’ve also endorsed Zohran Mamdani—but only after political reality makes it unavoidable.

The truth is, the Working Families Party represents not the broader working class, but a privileged subset—union-affiliated workers embedded in a liberal status quo.

They endorsed Joe Crowley over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018.

The mission of Draft AOC 2028 is to provide volunteers across the left with the tools they need to organize locally and effectively.

It’s about empowering activists to shift their communities leftward—while staying clear of co-opted or cynical organizations like WFP that mislabel liberal politics as "leftist."

We must educate each other about the Big Four, and why the liberal politics championed by groups like the WFP or the Center for New Liberalism are insufficient.

Interestingly, some DSA members have even proposed a formal censure of AOC at the upcoming national convention in Chicago this August.

That’s why I believe Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should remain silent on the mayoral race and let the various factions of the left sort themselves out.

What is next?

It’s up to you to demand that the Big Four leftist movements in the United States come together and develop a united strategy for 2028.

Here’s how to reach each of them:

• Team AOC – press@ocasiocortez.com

• Communist Party USA – cpusa@cpusa.org

• Green Party USA – media@gp.org

• Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – dsa.organizing@dsausa.org

• Social Democrats of America (SDA) – info@socialists.us (We’re already at the table.)

And of course, feel free to CC me directly at theo@draftaoc.us to keep the conversation going.

Let’s stop working in silos—and start building the coalition we need.

In solidarity,
Hasta la victoria, ¡siempre!

Theo Chino