Four of America's 20 largest cities now have socialist mayors, affecting 44 million people

After two socialist mayors were elected on Tuesday in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., four of the 20 largest cities in the United States now have socialist leaders at the helm. The four cities are home to roughly 14 million people.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Nithya Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), defeated incumbent mayor Karen Bass. She will take office in December as mayor for the roughly 4 million residents of Los Angeles proper.

Also victorious on Tuesday was DSA member Janeese Lewis George, who became mayor-elect of Washington, D.C., a city of roughly 700,000 residents.

George and Raman join Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. That means four of the country's 20 most populous cities now have socialist mayors.

The four cities together are home to roughly 14 million people, a figure that does not include neighboring suburbs. Suburban residents work in the cities, and policies enacted within city limits can spill over into surrounding communities through crime, real estate values and the broader business climate. Counting the metro areas of those four cities, roughly 44 million people could be affected, positively or negatively, by the policies of the four mayors.

Heritage Foundation fellow Mike Gonzalez posted on X on Thursday: 'This makes LA the fourth large city that will now have a socialist mayor, joining New York, Washington DC and Seattle.' He added: 'Chicago's mayor is a buffoon, but he doesn't identify as DSA. America used to be an impregnable fortress against Marxism, then Marxists took over universities.'

The socialist victories were not limited to city halls. Voters also elected seven DSA-backed or affiliated candidates to the House: Claire Valdez, Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier of New York, Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania, Melat Kiros of Colorado, Donavan McKinney of Michigan and Angela Gonzales-Torres of California.

Several other candidates associated with socialist policies also entered Congress or were re-elected on Tuesday.

Former Biden White House aide Yemisi Egbewole predicted that the Democratic Socialists of America would struggle to gain national influence ahead of the 2028 presidential election despite the recent electoral victories.

A recent Fox News national poll indicated 32 percent of voters have a favorable view of socialism, with 64 percent seeing it in an unfavorable way. The favorable rating matches an all-time high, first reached five years ago, since Fox News first began asking the question in 2019.

A September Gallup poll found that 43 percent of Americans had a positive image of socialism, the highest level since the polling organization began tracking the question in 2010. The same Fox News poll found that 51 percent of voters had a favorable view of capitalism, compared with 46 percent who viewed it unfavorably.

The panel on 'The Big Money Show' said the key election issues were affordability and immigration. In the same midterm elections, Democrats took control of Congress.