Embracing Bernie's Democratic primary strategy reorganized and strengthened the US left, while sectarian independence-first approaches stagnated
Source: Hadas Thier. "How Bernie’s Campaigns Reorganized the Organized Left." October 15, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
The author, a former member of a revolutionary group that dismissed Bernie Sanders, argues that his campaigns proved socialists could build real power by running in Democratic primaries. The groups that joined in, like DSA, grew a lot, while those that stayed on the sidelines for the sake of purity shrank, so the left shouldn't go back to being permanent outsiders.
Conclusion
Bernie Sanders's 2016 and 2020 campaigns settled the intraleft debate over engaging with the Democratic Party: socialists who engaged with the campaigns (chiefly DSA) grew and gained influence, while those who held to rigid independence from the Democrats and organizational identity declined, so the left should not return to being permanent outsiders.
Premises
- Before 2016, the organized socialist left was marginal, unable to insert its ideas beyond small meetings and study groups, and relevant to national discourse only briefly when movements surged and then retreated.
- The radical left predicted that Sanders's Democratic primary run would fail, as Kucinich's did, by herding voters back into the party, producing no sustained movement and turning radicals into reformists.
- In fact, Sanders came from no name recognition to win 23 contests and about 46% of pledged delegates, the DNC's hostility was exposed, millions were radicalized rather than sheepdogged, 'socialist' became a point of pride, and a wave of democratic socialist candidates followed (AOC, Mamdani).
- Groups that threw themselves into the Bernie campaigns, especially DSA, grew exponentially in numbers and influence, while groups that held to independence from the Democrats, such as the ISO, shrank, stagnated, or collapsed.
- The revolutionary left doubled down in 2020 despite evidence contradicting its theory, prioritizing organizational identity and traditional principles over adapting to shifting political realities and building the largest, most powerful left.
Assumptions
- Organizational growth and influence are the right measures of strategic success for the left.
- The divergence in outcomes between DSA and the ISO and similar groups was caused by their stance toward Sanders's campaigns rather than by other factors.
- Sanders's campaigns and the democratic socialist electoral wave caused the left's renewed strength, rather than merely coinciding with it.
- The structural barriers to independent parties in the US make a break with the Democrats unfeasible in the short term.
- Engagement with the Democratic Party can be done while maintaining independence from party elites without being co-opted.
- Success to date shows the Democratic-primary strategy will keep working, so the debate is 'settled'.