House Republicans last week forced a vote on a resolution condemning socialism, but by attaching unrelated immigration language, they may have squandered a chance for a broad bipartisan statement—while still exposing deep divisions within the Democratic Party.
The resolution, which passed largely along party lines, drew eight Democrats to cross the aisle: Kathy Castor (Fla.), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Darren Soto (Fla.), Jared Golden (Maine), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Don Davis (N.C.), and Gabe Vasquez (N.M.). Their support was notable given the party's leftward drift, but the measure's inclusion of the SAVE America Act—a voter ID and proof-of-citizenship bill championed by President Trump—made it a partisan trap rather than a clean rebuke.
Moderate Democrats, including Reps. Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Hillary Scholten (Mich.), Jared Moskowitz (Fla.), and Tom Suozzi (N.Y.), floated an amendment to strip the voting provision, signaling they might have joined the eight. But Republicans held firm, and the amendment never came to a vote. Gottheimer later argued that the GOP's move showed they were "not actually interested in getting people on record on whether socialists are part of the Democratic Party."
Indeed, just days later, the House passed the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act—sponsored by Gottheimer and Republican Virginia Foxx (N.C.)—with 33 Democrats backing it. That bill bars colleges receiving federal student aid from participating in boycotts of Israel, a direct challenge to the Democratic Socialists of America's anti-Israel stance.
The episode underscores a larger problem for Democrats: as the party builds its 2026 strategy around opposing President Trump, it has yet to articulate a clear, positive agenda. Trump's approval rating sits at 40 percent overall and just 35 percent on the economy, offering Democrats a potential opening. But opposition alone won't sustain the party beyond the midterms, especially with socialist candidates winning primaries in safe Democratic districts and likely heading to Congress in January.
Democrats' favorability is already 14 points underwater, even as Republicans face their own vulnerabilities. That gap gives the Democratic Socialists of America room to fill the vacuum. If voters come to associate the party with socialist policies, Democrats will struggle to build the coalition needed to govern nationally.
Democrats could still reclaim the House and Senate in 2026 on the back of Trump's unpopularity, but the 2028 presidential race will require more than being the anti-Trump party. As early 2028 contenders emerge, the party needs to define itself on its own terms.
A pragmatic center-left agenda—combining border security with an earned path to citizenship, fiscal responsibility with targeted investments, support for allies like Israel, and a commitment to capitalism that expands opportunity—could appeal to both the Democratic base and swing voters. These positions shouldn't be divisive, but they require Democrats to move beyond simply criticizing the GOP.
As socialists' rise tests the party's outreach, centrists like Gottheimer are urging Democrats to embrace a clear identity. Whether they do will shape the party's future—and its ability to win national elections.
