Inside the democratic socialists’ plan to shake up Congress

Dasha Burns (0:00)

Presented by AHIP.

SPEAKER_2 (0:02)

Health plans work every day to shield Americans from high and rising costs by negotiating lower prices from providers and drug makers and protecting consumers against unexpected medical bills. Learn more at ahip.org.

Darializa Avila Chevalier (0:15)

There's this misconception that, you know, leftists are only here for, you know, grandstanding, but that's not the case. We're here to prove that the left can actually deliver.

Dasha Burns (0:31)

Hello, hello, and welcome to The Conversation. I'm Dasha Burns, and every week on this show, I sit down with some of the most compelling and sometimes unexpected power players in Washington and beyond. And this week, I sat down with Democratic House candidates Melat Kiros of Colorado, and Darializa Avila Chevalier of New York. Both Kiros and Avila Chevalier are members of the Democratic Socialists of America, or the DSA, and importantly, they both beat long-time Democratic incumbents in their primaries and are now all but guaranteed to make it to Congress. Kiros' district, Colorado 1, covers reliably blue Denver.

Melat Kiros (1:11)

You are the proof that the power of organized people beats the power of organized money.

Dasha Burns (1:19)

And Avila Chevalier's district, New York 13, encompasses Upper Manhattan and part of the Bronx in New York City.

SPEAKER_5 (1:26)

No longer will we accept anything less than respect and a seat at the table that our labor built.

Dasha Burns (1:33)

Their victories are part of this broader trend that we've seen over the course of this midterm election, especially in primaries for Democrats, of these insurgent progressive and self-described socialist candidates having surprising victories over incumbents. So I wanted to know what parts of the DSA platform do Kiros and Avila Chevalier actually agree with, and do DSA priorities stand a chance in Congress when some voters hear the word socialist as a dirty word? In fact, House Speaker Mike Johnson leaned into that pretty hard when I talked to him earlier this summer.

SPEAKER_2 (2:07)

This is a contrast election between common sense and crazy. And increasingly, that's what the other side represents.

Dasha Burns (2:13)

Folks, thank you so much for engaging with our election mini series. We are now so close to election day, so please subscribe to make sure you catch our final episodes before then. And now, here's my conversation with Melat Kiros and Darializa Avila Chevalier.

Two for one, this is exciting. Melat Kiros and Darializa Avila Chevalier, thank you so much for joining The Conversation.

Darializa Avila Chevalier (2:36)

Thanks for having us.

Dasha Burns (2:37)

Excited to be here. It's rare that I have two people on with me, but it made a ton of sense, and we'll get into why a little bit later in the podcast. But you two are likely both going to be part of quite a force coming into Congress, in the new Congress.

You both won your primaries against longtime incumbents as members of the Democratic Socialists of America. Some Democrats see this as a really exciting opportunity to bring in new, younger voters. Republicans say these wins show that the Democratic Party is moving in a dangerous direction. I'm sure you've all seen the ads. Darializa, I want to start with you. What do you think that your victories say about the future of the Democratic Party?

Darializa Avila Chevalier (3:24)

Honestly, I'm just so deeply humbled to have been nominated as a Democratic nominee in this district. I would be the first woman to represent this district, the first Afro-Latina and Dominican woman.

I think what it speaks to is the fact that our district was ready for a change. It was ready for folks who are organizers, who understand what working people are going through, and who are willing to fight for the things that working people need. I think what our races really show is that people are hungry for that kind of politic, that is substantive, that is actually fighting for things like Medicare for all to make sure our tax dollars come home and invest in our babies and our bombs, making sure that we are fighting for housing for all, and all of the things that our communities need. In this district, we just saw, for example, this past week, the way ICE was impacting our neighborhoods and across the country, immigration has been at the top of folks' minds. Our races address so many of the things that working people across the country are facing. To know that Melat won just a week after me, I think really highlighted that. It proved that my race was not a fluke. This was something that people across the country are craving.

Dasha Burns (4:37)

Yeah. Let's dig into that point because I'm curious, Melat, do you see your win and Darializa's win as a model for potentially competitive districts or is it more a way to change the Democratic Party from the inside, from within? What do you make of that?