- Democratic Socialist-aligned candidates from AOC to Mamdani to Michigan’s El-Sayed are seizing momentum within the Democratic Party. Scott Colom’s challenge in Mississippi over the next few months will be distancing himself from the national shift.
Democratic socialism is gaining steam in the national Democratic Party as more candidates endorsed and supported by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) win primaries and general elections across the country.
For now, Mississippi is not among the states where DSA has notched a win, at least one that is acknowledged by the organization or an incumbent Democrat officeholder. However, there does appear to be at least a speck of interest in the socialist movement in the Magnolia State.
According to DSA, Mississippi has one chapter of the socialist group up and running in the Central Mississippi area. Two other chapters are in the works, with organizing committees in North and South Mississippi.
As their nominee for U.S. Senate in Mississippi, Scott Colom is the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer in this election cycle. Magnolia Tribune asked the Lowndes County District Attorney where he aligns as his party of choice shifts towards more progressive positions, including the embrace of socialism
Where Does Colom Stand?
The inquiry to Colom came in the wake of Abdul El-Sayed’s win to become the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan last week and the growing support DSA has amassed.
With the backing of U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) as well as Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and a platform that included abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), instituting Medicare for all, and ending America’s Israeli alliance, El-Sayed bested an establishment incumbent Democrat Congresswoman in the Michigan Senate Democratic Primary.
El-Sayed has sought to downplay his ties to DSA despite repeated appearances at DSA events, a DSA fundraiser, and sharing the stage with some of DSA’s leading stars, such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), Congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez, and others. If El-Sayed wins in November, he would become the nation’s first openly practicing Muslim U.S. Senator.
Magnolia Tribune asked Colom if he identified more with the new wave of Democratic candidates like El-Sayed or with an older, more moderate guard in the party. Colom was also asked if he believed El-Sayed was wrong to promote abolishing ICE and what his position was on ending the U.S. alliance with Israel.
Colom’s campaign manager, Gerard Henderson, used the inquiry as an opportunity to criticize sitting U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R), accusing her of cutting “Mississippians’ health care to pay for billionaire tax breaks.”
This line, often repeated by Colom on the campaign trail, refers to the vote on President Donald Trump’s signature “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Without that vote by Hyde-Smith, tax rates would have increased on all Mississippi workers, including low-wage workers. The standard deduction that brings down taxable income would have been slashed in half and the child tax credit would have been dramatically cut. Congress also allowed temporary enhanced subsidies for health insurance plans on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange to expire, as they were designed to do in bipartisan legislation passed during the COVID pandemic.
Henderson also pointed to Hyde-Smith’s vote to confirm new Attorney General Todd Blanche, saying she voted “to confirm the one man who won’t unseal all the Epstein files.” Henderson said those “matter much more to Mississippians than a primary in Michigan.”
“Mississippians have re-elected Scott Colom district attorney three times because they know his values and exactly what kind of Democrat he is — common-sense, pro-law-enforcement, and focused on them,” Henderson said.
Colom’s campaign manager then added, “Scott opposes abolishing ICE, and supports securing our border, enforcing the law, cutting taxes for cops and teachers, and a two-state solution in the Middle East — period.”
The Rise of Socialism in the Democratic Party
Zohran Mamdani’s win in November 2025 to become Mayor of New York City sparked a wave of progressive and DSA-backed candidates to enter the midterms this year. Backed by Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and other members of “the Squad” in the U.S. House, self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist candidates have won primaries in New York, Pennsylvania, Colorada, Washington, and Michigan.
In addition, DSA-backed candidates have been on the ballot in other states for local races, even in Washington D.C., with more than a few seemingly on the cusp of a win.
“On July 4, 2026, we hit an all time high of 120,000 DSA members! In absolute numbers, that makes us the largest socialist organization in United States history, officially surpassing the Socialist Party of America under the great Eugene V. Debs, which reached its peak dues-paying membership in 1912… It’s a hot socialist summer, with some of our biggest wins to date over the past month,” the DSA wrote in their July newsletter. “Our gains are hitting the Democratic Party establishment like a leftist tidal wave, and our members are gearing up for much bigger plans toward 2028.”
DSA is calling on Americans to “imagine… a future without capitalism,” where “You have no debt. You don’t need health insurance. You don’t pay a mortgage or have a landlord, because comfortable housing is a human right. Your retirement is publicly funded. Food, education, energy, medicine, and transportation aren’t for-profit businesses; they are common goods and utilities.”
“Democratic socialists know that no one has to live like this. If we lived in a classless society and governed ourselves, we could freely build a world without war or poverty,” DSA states. “We could build a world where no one suffers for their race, gender, or religion, and everyone is free, equal, and cared for. Building this world is the guiding star of our movement. When we labor for our common good instead of private profit, we can all have a secure and dignified life, and use our time and talents how we wish.”
DSA goes on to say, “Our enemies are not just individual bosses, but the entire global system of capital; not just this or that cop, judge, or president, but the entire anti-democratic structure of our society. We are workers fighting to transform society: to win the battle for democracy, draft a new constitution, and create a democratic socialist republic.”
Is Soros funding DSA-backed Candidates? It’s Hard to Tell
According to their self-compiled fiscal year end report, one of DSA’s non-profits raised over $500,000 in 2025. Yet, DSA’s 2025 990s are not currently showing in an IRS tax exempt search to verify the 2025 claims.
The Democratic Socialists of America Fund Inc. reported $400,000 in revenue in 2024 while the Democratic Socialists of America Inc. reported $6.4 million in revenue that same year. Details on where those funds came from are scant.
But according to the New York Post, a familiar name – Soros – is making moves this midterm cycle, and it could include funding for progressive candidates such as those backed by DSA. However, because of allowable political action committee transfers and tax filings being incomplete, what Democrats the family is supporting makes it nearly impossible to track.
“Billionaire Democratic kingmaker George Soros and his son Alex spent a staggering $102.8 million in the midterm election cycle — making the family chief architects of the party’s seismic shift toward the radical left,” a June 2026 NY Post article reported. “Almost all of the money — $102 million — was funneled through the Democracy Political Action Committee, the super PAC Soros launched in 2020, which acts as the family’s main political arm, obfuscating efforts to know which radical candidates the clan is propping up since PAC money can flow through multiple channels before reaching a candidate.”
The NY Post continued:
“Of that, a little over half, $52 million, came from George Soros through the private corporation Geosor under his name and the other half, $50 million, from Fund for Policy Reform, a nonprofit which lists Alex Soros as director in tax filings…
“In previous election cycles, the Open Society Action Fund’s cash flowed to groups backing lefty stars like ‘Squad’ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and embattled pal Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), but its tax filings for 2025 aren’t yet available.
“Control of the dark money Democracy PAC where the bulk of the family’s money went changed before the 2024 presidential election, with the elder Soros handing over the reins of his empire to his ‘more political’ son Alex Soros, the fourth of five children…
“Donations made in the elder and younger Soros’ names were largely in step this cycle, backing many of the same left-wing candidates — with Alex Soros personally adding another $140,525 to the family’s midterm push.”
Mississippians have come to learn more about the Soros family this year with Colom winning the Democrat nomination for U.S. Senate. It is well documented that Colom has taken significant money from the liberal financier Soros, his family and his related political committees.
READ MORE: Mississippi hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1982. Scott Colom believes he will change that in November
In 2015, Soros was the sole reported donor to the Mississippi Safety & Justice PAC. That PAC made over $700,000 in expenditures in support of Colom’s bid for District Attorney during this first campaign, according to paperwork filed with the Secretary of State.
Then, after his announced run for U.S. Senate in September 2025, Alex Soros, the son and heir apparent of George Soros’ sprawling political empire, hosted a New York fundraiser.
Colom has repeatedly sought to distance himself from the Soros donations.
Then there is the Democrat-aligned super PAC, American Bridge 21st Century, that announced a $50 million ad campaign ahead of the November midterms targeting House and Senate races in traditionally safe Republican areas, including in Mississippi. Other states where the group is spending money are Iowa, Alaska, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
As previously reported by Magnolia Tribune, the American Bridge 21st Century super PAC, otherwise referred to as AB PAC, has benefited over the years from high-dollar individual left-leaning donors and likeminded political action committees, such as unions, Democracy PAC (a super PAC created by the billionaire Soros) and the National Education Association, among others.
