Socialist Party of the United States of America
Abbreviation	SPUSA
Chairs	Matei Alexandru (NH) Mary Nickum (AZ)[1]
Vice Chairs	Ren Walstrom (IN) Stephanie Cholensky (MN)[1]
Secretary	Greg Pason
Treasurer	William Cichy
Editor	Mary Nickum
Founded	May 30, 1973; 52 years ago (1973-05-30)
Split from	Social Democrats, USA
Preceded by	Socialist Party of America
Headquarters	168 Canal Street, 6th Floor New York City, New York 10013 (A. J. Muste Institute)
Youth wing	Young People's Socialist League (1989-2010)
Ideology	Democratic socialism Radical democracy[2] Socialist feminism Eco-socialism
Political position	Left-wing
Colors	Red
Seats in the Senate	0 / 100
Seats in the House	0 / 435
Governorships	0 / 50
State Upper House Seats	0 / 1,972
State Lower House Seats	0 / 5,411
Local Offices	2 (2024)
Website
www.socialistpartyusa.net
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

TheSocialist Party of the United States of America (alsoSocialist Party USA orSPUSA) is asocialistpolitical party in the United States. SPUSA formed in 1973, one year after theSocialist Party of America splintered into three:Social Democrats, USA (legal successor); theDemocratic Socialist Organizing Committee (split); and SPUSA.

SPUSA describes itself as amulti-tendency socialist party which hopes to win socialism through a "democraticrevolution from below". In contrast to theDemocratic Socialists of America (DSA), SPUSA advocates for "uncompromising independence" from theDemocratic Party. SPUSA describes socialism as "radical democracy", in opposition to "capitalist andauthoritarian statist systems".^[2]

Notable members includeDavid McReynolds,Frank Zeidler, andDan La Botz. Former members includeBen Burgis.

The SPUSA is headquartered at theA. J. Muste Institute. As of September 2024^[update], the Socialist Party had 11 local and state parties. Active SPUSA state parties includeMichigan,New Jersey,Wisconsin. Inactive state parties includeCalifornia,Maine,Kansas.^[3]

In 1975, chairman Frank Zeidler claimed that SPUSA had around 500 members nationwide.^[4] SPUSA saw growth during the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s, expanding from around 600 members to around 1,700 members.^[5] In 2008,WMNF claimed that SPUSA had around 3,000 members.^[6] However, in 2010,CommonDreams wrote that SPUSA had only 1,000 members, and party members described that as an increase in membership.^[7] In May 2011,The New York Times stated that SPUSA had "about 1,000 members nationally".^[8] In February 2012,The Root stated that SPUSA had "around 1,500" members.^[9][10]

In 1958, theIndependent Socialist League, led byMax Shachtman, dissolved and joined theSocialist Party of America (SPA), which was founded byEugene V. Debs.^[11] Shachtman had written thatSoviet communism was anew form of class society,bureaucratic collectivism, in which the ruling class exploited and oppressed the population, and therefore he opposed the spread of communism.^[12][13][14] Shachtman argued that democratic socialists should work withlabor unions andcivil rights organizations to build asocial democratic "realignment" of theDemocratic Party. "Shachmanites" had a great amount of influence on the SPA.^[13]

In its 1972 convention, the SPA changed its name toSocial Democrats, USA by a vote of 73 to 34, supported by both Co-Chairmen,Bayard Rustin andCharles S. Zimmerman.^[15][16] This rename was meant to be "realistic".The New York Times observed that the Socialist Party had last sponsoredDarlington Hoopes as its candidate for president in the1956 election, who received only 2,121 votes, in just six states. The majority report noted that the name "party" was "misleading" because the SPA no longer sponsored presidential candidates, and also hindered recruitment of activists who participated in the Democratic Party. The name "Socialist" was replaced by "Social Democrats" because many American associated the word "socialism" with Soviet communism.^[15] The party also wished to distinguish itself from two small Marxist parties.^[17]

The convention elected a national committee of 33 members, with 22 seats for the majority caucus, 8 seats for Harrington's Coalition Caucus, 2 for the Debs caucus, and one for the "independent"Samuel  H. Friedman.^[18] These minority caucuses all opposed the name change.^[15] The convention voted on and adopted proposals for its program by a two-one vote, with the majority caucus winning every vote.^[18]

After their defeat at the convention, members of the two minority caucuses helped to found new socialist organizations. Harrington's Coalition Caucus created theDemocratic Socialist Organizing Committee.

The Debs Caucus, led byDavid McReynolds, formed the Union for Democratic Socialism. On May 30, 1973, the UDS incorporated the Socialist Party of the United States of America.^[19] Many activists from the local and state branches of the old Socialist Party of America, including the party's Wisconsin, California, Illinois, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. organizations, participated in the reconstitution of SPUSA.^[20]

After its founding, the party promoted itself as the legitimate heir of the Socialist Party of America.^[21] SPUSA electedFrank Zeidler, formerMayor of Milwaukee, as its first nationalchairperson. Later, SPUSA nominated Zeidler for President. Zeidler believed the party would be able to collaborate with other socialist parties nationwide to spread the message of socialism.^[4]

In 2008,SPUSA candidate for PresidentBrian Moore vocally opposed the idea thatBarack Obama was a socialist of any kind,^[22] saying it was "misleading of theRepublicans" to spread that message.^[23]

In 2009, theSocialist Party of Connecticut protested inHartford against Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan.^[24]

In 2010, SPUSA Co-ChairBilly Wharton called Obama's2010 State of the Union Address a "public relations ploy".^[25] Wharton criticized theAffordable Care Act as designed "to protect the profit margins of private insurance companies".^[26]

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SPUSA argues that socialism can only come throughsocial revolution. SPUSA tendencies include bothdemocratic socialism, for a gradual transformation of society, andrevolutionary socialism, for a rapid transformation following a slow "socialist transformation from below" through radically democratic "people's organizations".^[2] SPUSA describes socialism as aradically democratic system which "places people's lives under their own control—a classless, feminist, socialist society free of racism, sexism, homophobia or transphobia," and in which "the people own and control the means of production and distribution through democratically controlled public agencies, cooperatives, or other collective groups"; "full employment is realized for everyone who wants to work"; "workers have the right to form unions freely, and to strike and engage in other forms of job actions"; and "production of society is used for the benefit of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few."^[2]

Socialist Party candidates support expandingsocial spending andsocial ownership of capital. In 2009, Greg Pason's proposals included socializing theUnited States health care system, a steeplygraduated income tax, universalrent control and the elimination of all educational debts andtuition fees.^[27] In 1997, Pason calledauto insurance "aregressive tax against working people".^[28] Moore was also vocal of his support forsocialized medicine.^[29] Moore supportedeconomic democracy throughsocial ownership andworkers' control of reigning industrial andfinancial institutions.^[22]

SPUSA has fieldedelectoral candidates forlocal,state, andfederal offices. SPUSA candidates usually run on a SPUSA ballot line, asindependent, or asGreen Party candidates.^{[citation needed]}

SPUSA has often endorsed members of theVermont Progressive Party (VPP), such asPeter Diamondstone.^[30] Most of these individuals were members of the Vermont socialistLiberty Union Party, but not members of SPUSA. These endorsees-but-not-members of SPUSA are not included below.

SPUSA has won several local offices, but never a state legislature, statewide, or federal office.

• Pat Noble, member of theRed Bank Regional High School Board of Education^[31]
• Samantha Pree-Stinson, member of theMinneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation^[32]

In the1984 presidential election, SPUSA nominated theCitizens Party candidate for president,Sonia Johnson.

In the2020 presidential election, the SPUSA nominated theGreen Party nomineeHowie Hawkins for president. Hawkins also received various state-level party endorsements, such as theLiberty Union Party in Vermont, in a bid to unite the "non-sectarian independent Left" behind a single campaign.^[55]

• Democratic Socialists of America
• Social Democrats, USA
• Green Party of the United States
• Socialist Party of America
• Socialist Alternative (United States)
• History of left-wing politics in the United States
• History of the socialist movement in the United States

• Smallwood, Frank (1983).The Other Candidates: Third Parties in Presidential Elections.University Press of New England. p. 317.ISBN 0-87451-256-5.6,898 David McReynolds David McReynolds.
• Presidential Elections since 1789.Congressional Quarterly. 1991. p. 248.ISBN 0-87187-609-4.
• Busky, Donald F. (2000).Democratic socialism: A global survey.Greenwood Publishing Group.ISBN 0-275-96886-3.^{[independent source needed]}
• Freeman, Joe (2008).We Will be Heard: Women's Struggles for Political Power in the United States.Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 263.ISBN 978-0-7425-5607-2.3,882 Willa Kenoyer Willa Kenoyer.

• David A. Epstein,Left, Right, Out: The History of Third Parties in America. Arts and Letters Imperium Publications. 2008.
• Alan Feuer,"Inside Socialist Party Headquarters".The New York Times. October 20, 2008.
• R. W. Tucker,"The Debs Caucus: A Party Within a Party". Madison, WI. Socialist Party of Wisconsin. December 1970.

• Official website
• The Radical Pamphlet Collection at theLibrary of Congress contains materials from the Socialist Party of the United States of America.
• Constitution of the Socialist Party USA
• SPUSA platform
• The Organizer archives:
  • 2006-02 to 2008-04
  • 2008-01 to 2012-04
  • 2009-12 to 2012-11
  • 2011-03 to 2013-12
  • 2012-12 to 2014-10
  • 2014-10 to 2017-03
  • 2017-11 to 2020-09
  • 2019-03 to 2022-03
  • 2021-05 to 2024-11

• Socialist Party USA
• Political parties established in 1973
• Socialist parties in the United States
• Democratic socialism in the United States
• Multi-tendency organizations in the United States
• Political parties in the United States

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