Historian Jill Lepore Explains Democratic Socialists' Midterm Gains

Historian and New Yorker writer Jill Lepore says the Democratic Socialists of America is no longer "beyond the political pale" in American politics, a shift she traces through the group's role in recent midterm wins, according to an NPR interview published Nov. 11.

What did Jill Lepore say about the DSA?

Lepore, speaking to NPR, described the DSA's recent midterm performance as part of a longer arc in which a label once treated as toxic in U.S. elections has become something candidates can run on openly. She said the organization is "no longer beyond the political pale," according to NPR, a phrase she used to mark a change from decades in which socialist affiliation was a political liability for candidates seeking broad support.

Why does Lepore say socialism is no longer off-limits?

According to the NPR interview, Lepore places the current moment inside a history of socialism in America that stretches back more than a century, pointing to periods when socialist and labor movements had real electoral footholds before Cold War politics pushed the label to the margins. Her argument, as summarized by NPR, is that the current resurgence is less a sudden break than a return to a current that runs through American political history rather than something wholly new.

What is the history of socialism in America?

NPR's conversation with Lepore frames the DSA's visibility today against that earlier history, when socialist organizing was part of mainstream labor and reform politics rather than a fringe position. Lepore uses that history, per the interview, to explain why she sees today's socialist candidates less as an aberration and more as the reappearance of a strain of politics that had largely gone underground for much of the 20th century.

What changed for the DSA in the midterms?

The NPR segment ties its discussion to midterm results described as historic for democratic socialist candidates, though the interview itself focuses on the causes Lepore identifies rather than a district-by-district accounting of races. Her read, as reported by NPR, is that the party label has shed enough of its old stigma that candidates can now use it as an organizing identity rather than something to downplay.

Where can readers hear the full interview?

The full conversation is available through NPR's Nov. 11 segment, which includes Lepore's broader discussion of socialism's place in American political history and her assessment of why the DSA's current standing differs from earlier eras when the label carried heavier political costs. NPR did not publish vote totals or district-level breakdowns alongside the interview, and this account is limited to what Lepore told the network.

Readers looking for citywide or district-specific midterm results for DSA-backed candidates will need to consult local election authorities, since the NPR interview centers on historical and political analysis rather than a results ledger.