A veteran campaign strategist is repurposing his super PAC to block the expansion of the surging Democratic Socialists of America in New York.
“They’re not Democrats,” railed Hank Sheinkopf, founder of the political action committee Protect the Protectors. “They want to take apart the American system.”
The pro-law enforcement PAC was unable to stop DSA member Zohran Mamdani in his successful run in last year’s Big Apple mayoral election, despite spending about $200,000 in the final stretch of the campaign.
Sheinkopf, who worked on former President Bill Clinton’s re-election campaign and considers himself a moderate Democrat, accused the DSA of antisemitism in part because it supports the controversial boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Members, including Mamdani, have also accused Israel of genocide in its ongoing military action in Gaza.
Some Jewish activists, including the high-profile activist group Anti-Defamation League, consider the BDS movement a form of antisemitism aimed at economically destroying the world’s only Jewish state.
Mamdani and the DSA dispute that their pro-Palestinian advocacy and opposition to the Israeli government is antisemitic.
“It always starts with the Jews but it doesn’t end with the Jews,” Sheinkopf said.
Sheinkopf said his group will build an apparatus to go door knocking and challenge DSA candidates in upcoming election cycles for state Legislature, City Council, Congress as well as citywide and statewide offices.
The strategist’s move comes as the DSA rides high off a series of wins across the country.
DSA members not only hold the NYC mayor’s seat, but have four members in the City Council and will have 14 in the state Legislature and eight in the House of Representatives come January.
Democratic socialists are already pressuring Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was just re-elected in a landslide, to “tax the rich” next year.
DSA candidate Nithya Raman last week also won the mayoralty of Los Angeles, America’s second largest city.
Meanwhile, democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being urged to run for president by some DSA allies in the group’s New York City chapter.
