By David Sole
In the United States, dominated by corporate and banking billionaires – a system called monopoly capitalism, voting in elections cannot produce decisive or long-lasting change for poor and working people. But elections can give an indication of shifting moods among the electorate. Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx’s collaborator in the late 1800s noted in 1884 that: “Universal suffrage is thus the gauge of the maturity of the working class. It cannot and never will be anything more in the modern state.”
The dangerous right-wing domination in the Republican Party and Donald Trump’s electoral victories are well known. Among sectors of the U.S. working class this trend is closely tied to racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ bigotry and other prejudices promoted for generations by the billionaire ruling class who is desperate to maintain its control by divide and conquer tactics.
It might be expected that, in reaction to the vicious Trump/Republican program, the Democrats will benefit easily. But support for the Democratic Party has also been eroding widely, especially among young people. The open role by “corporate Democrats” in protecting the billionaire class has alienated many. The military, financial and political support for the zionist, apartheid Israeli regime, especially U.S. aid to Israel all through the genocide against the Palestinian people, continued over the past years during both Democratic and Republican presidencies.
Therefore, it is interesting to note some election results as they pertain to Democratic primary elections. Primary elections in New York State drew a lot of attention when, on June 23, numerous members of the Democratic Socialists of America won over “establishment” candidates by wide margins. Three DSA endorsed candidates will go on to the November elections, replacing two incumbent Democratic congresspersons.
Victories also included state Senate and Assembly primaries in New York City, Buffalo and Syracuse. These victories are even more remarkable in light of the massive spending against them. “Super PACs had spent $9.6 million on primaries…nearly five times the amount spent through the same period in 2024. Much of the spending was focused on defeating candidates endorsed by local DSA chapters.” Should the DSA endorsed candidates prevail in the November general elections, DSA will have 15 seats in Albany.
In Denver, Colorado, Melat Kiros, a democratic socialist, won the primary for a seat in Congress in the 1st Congressional District on June 30. Kiros, age 29, had never run for office previously, defeating incumbent Representative Diana DeGette. DeGette has served in Washington for almost 30 years. Her program included abolishing ICE and strong opposition to Israel.
These developments indicate an important shift among voters who are not being stampeded by corporate financed attacks or the specter of socialism. Public opposition to the Israeli genocide of Palestinians also appears to be substantial.
This trend is quite worrisome to the billionaire class that controls the Democratic Party’s central levers of power. Whether the Democratic Party can even survive is a valid question. Its role in this capitalist electoral system was always to keep the working class docile with election promises while ensuring no real threats arose to raking in billions in profits.
Another question not being widely considered is whether the neo-fascists around Trump will even allow the November elections to proceed. The Trump cabal has been working overtime to reduce the voter rolls and make voting more difficult.
Should they decide that their reign in Congress is about to end, will they move to cancel the elections entirely? This scenario may seem overly alarmist, some might say impossible. But Trump and Co. have been thinking of utilizing the Insurrection Act to this end. To succeed they would need a major terrorist attack to justify such a radical action. Since such an attack cannot be predicted, they are perfectly capable of organizing one on their own. Hitler had his agents set fire to the German Parliament building in February 1933, blamed the Communists and seized complete dictatorial power.
It should be noted that Trump has created a vast, heavily armed storm trooper militia of ICE agents who would be willing to carry out widespread suppression of democratic rights across the country. Elections then would not be an option as an arena of struggle. Other forms of resistance would become necessary.
