Black voters test the socialist left's ceiling

axios.com

Black voters may determine whether Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) can build on breakthroughs in the 2026 elections. Why it matters: This year's primaries showed that DSA's path runs through older Black voters who wield enormous influence in Democratic primaries — particularly in the South — but have been slower to embrace insurgent candidates. By the numbers: Black Democrats are more likely to like than dislike leaders who identify as democratic socialists, but nearly two-thirds remain neutral toward them. 21% of Black Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents told Pew Research Center they like such leaders, compared with 11% who dislike them. Another 65% were neutral. Among Black Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 23% of those ages 18–49 like leaders who identify as democratic socialists, compared with 20% of those 50 and older. State of play: Angie Nixon's upset win in Florida's Democratic U.S. Senate primary made the Black state representative the first DSA member to win a major-party statewide nomination. Her politics blend labor organizing and civil-rights protest: The former union organizer fought voting-rights battles with sit-ins and a bullhorn and opened a bookstore amid Florida's school book bans, hosting Black-history workshops and organizing groups. Her vote share rose in precincts with younger and larger Black populations, an Axios analysis of election results found. Donavan McKinney's Detroit victory also showed a DSA-backed candidate can break through in a center of Black political power. The DSA-endorsed state representative defeated Rep. Shri Thanedar 51.9%-48.1% in Michigan's 13th District, pairing deep Detroit roots and a legislative record with labor and local support. Yes, but: A July Redbox Research poll for A Fight Worth Having found former Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) leading Rep. Wesley Bell (D-Mo.) 52%–20% among voters under 35 and 46%–36% among those 35–49. But only 19% of the Black likely-primary electorate in the poll was under 50. Bell ultimately defeated Bush 59%-37%. Zoom out: Nationally, 39% of Democratic-aligned adults under 30 like democratic socialist leaders, compared with 26% of those 50 and older. In 2016, an NBC analysis of 25 state exit polls found Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton 52%-47% among Black voters under 30. In South Carolina's 2020 primary, Black voters made up 56% of the electorate, and 69% of Black voters over 45 backed Joe Biden, according to Edison exit polling . Between the lines: New America's Theodore Johnson tells Axios older Black voters often impose a "viability hurdle" before taking a chance on candidates. Johnson said younger Black voters can be "central" to an insurgent coalition but "insufficient" without broader support. What they're saying: Darius Jones of the National Black Empowerment Action Fund warns against reading frustration with establishment Democrats as socialist conversion. Younger Black voters are "increasingly impatient with the pace of results," he said, but that is "not a wholesale endorsement of the DSA in any way." Marcus Board Jr. , a political science associate professor at Howard University, said DSA's difficulty connecting class politics to race is "definitely a hurdle." The other side: DSA says it is "committed to growing our membership into a more diverse, multiracial, multigenerational movement" by organizing around Black workers, child care, housing and food security.