On the night of the Democratic primary to be the next mayor of Washington, DC, Janeese Lewis George pushed back on those who doubted the movement that had formed behind her.

Despite speculation that she was primarily drawing support from wealthier, White residents and DC transplants, election results showed that Lewis George, who is Black, won wide support across the district.

“Over the past year, we assembled the most diverse coalition in this city’s history,” Lewis George said, describing a base that included organizers, environmentalists, nurses, transit and federal workers and janitors.

“We are Democrats, independents,” she said. “And democratic socialists.”

Lewis George’s victory in the nation’s capital — after 12 years of the more business-friendly administration of Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser — marks the latest electoral success for candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America and the far left, running broadly on addressing affordability issues like housing and childcare.

Last November, Zohran Mamdani of New York City and Katie Wilson of Seattle won mayoral elections in their cities. Earlier this month, Los Angeles city councilmember Nithya Raman, also a DSA member, advanced to the general election in her city’s mayoral race, despite efforts by incumbent Mayor Karen Bass to elevate a Republican rival, former reality show star Spencer Pratt.

Mamdani is trying to extend his influence in New York City by backing democratic socialists in two US House primaries on Tuesday, including a high-profile test between Rep. Adriano Espaillat and the mayor’s endorsed candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier.

Rallying with his slate of primary candidates on Thursday, Mamdani ripped the Democratic Party as stuck in an “old way of thinking” that would lose future elections.

“Frankly, it will lose in South Carolina and New Hampshire,” he said, referencing traditional early presidential primary states. “It will fall short of 270 electoral votes, because the party of the past will not be what leads us into the future.”

Aparna Raj, a democratic socialist who is currently leading her primary for a council seat in Northwest Washington, argued Democrats must offer a forward-looking message.