# How many Democratic Socialists are currently in office in USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 27, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166 "2016-11-27T15:45:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/1 "2016-11-27T15:45:39Z")
I recently went to a rally lead by Mike Sylvester. He is a Democratic Socialist who was just elected as a State Representative in Maine. Most people at the rally had supported Bernie Sanders and some point. Are there any other elected officials who consider themselves Democratic Socialists? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/2 "2016-11-27T16:23:35Z")
First, please clarify what is the difference between a Democratic Socialist and an liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/3 "2016-11-27T16:45:26Z")
Huh. I didn’t even know we had a Democratic Socialist Party. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/4 "2016-11-27T16:58:57Z")
Sylvester and Sanders both called themselves Democratic socialists during their campaigns. Sylvester is still a member of the Democratic Party. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/5 "2016-11-27T17:02:12Z")
Perhaps the correct answer is, “Not enough.” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/6 "2016-11-27T17:29:15Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > First, please clarify what is the difference between a Democratic Socialist and an liberal. Anywhere else but the US, a liberal is someone who believes in free trade and protecting individual liberty; in different countries, this might lead to an emphasis on anti-clericalism (Spain, Italy), in others on minimising economic and business regulation (Germany, France), or promoting localism and the “small platoon” (UK). Democratic Socialists, or Social Democrats, would be those who prefer to emphasise using the power of government to direct economic and social development and promote collective provision of welfare. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/7 "2016-11-30T19:22:51Z")
Or, more simply, you could just define a Socialist as “anyone who says they are”, which is simplistic but has the advantage of making it possible to actually answer the OP’s question. AFAIK Bernie Sanders is the only US Congressperson to identify as a Socialist (though he isn’t actually a member of any socialist organizations AFAIK). I am not aware of any other state legislators offhand, though there may be some. I am a member of the [Democratic Socialists of America](http://www.dsausa.org/), the largest self-identified Socialist organization in the US. We were strongly supportive of the Sanders campaign, and have supported him throughout his career. There are maybe a couple dozen other Congresspeople who we have actively supported and have policies similar to Bernie’s, though again AFAIK none of them identify as Socialists. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/8 "2016-11-30T19:52:57Z")
Does [Maxine Waters](https://youtu.be/o3I-PVVowFY?t=37s) count? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/9 "2016-11-30T20:04:20Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Anywhere else but the US, a liberal is someone who believes in free trade and protecting individual liberty; in different countries, this might lead to an emphasis on anti-clericalism (Spain, Italy), in others on minimising economic and business regulation (Germany, France), or promoting localism and the “small platoon” (UK). Democratic Socialists, or Social Democrats, would be those who prefer to emphasise using the power of government to direct economic and social development and promote collective provision of welfare. Even in the US, using the term “[Classical Liberal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism)” fits your definition of liberal. But I’m guessing most people would still not understand what you meant by the term. Libertarians and conservatives both sometimes use that term to describe their political philosophies. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/10 "2016-12-02T01:14:10Z")
I ran into Rep. Sylvester again today and asked him this. He said that Bernie and himself were the only two. Sylvester is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/11 "2016-12-02T03:05:55Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Does [Maxine Waters](https://youtu.be/o3I-PVVowFY?t=37s) count? No she is Democratic Nutter ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-democratic-socialists-are-currently-in-office-in-usa/773166/12 "2017-04-20T01:32:46Z")
DSA Member[Khalid Kamau](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/khalid-kamau-bernie-sanders-south-fulton-city-council_us_58f77c2de4b05b9d613f086d) has just been elected to the South Fulton, GA city council.