Socialist Party USA

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Socialist Party USA is one of the heirs to the Socialist Party of Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. Formed as the "Debs Caucus" in the old Socialist Party, the founders of the SP-USA were the most left-wing of the forces who opposed the right-wing leadership which renamed the old Socialist Party as Social Democrats USA (SDUSA). Leaving SDUSA, the Debs Caucus reconstituted the Socialist Party (SP) in 1973. Several old Socialist leaders, including Milwaukee Mayor Frank P. Zeidler, Quinn Brisben and David McReynolds, became leaders of the new party, and the organization began fielding candidates once again for President in 1976. In 1980, the SP was the first party to field an openly gay man for President — peace activist David McReynolds. In the 1980's, the SP grew slowly, but this changed in the 1990's. Karen Kubby, a Socialist Party member from Iowa City, was elected to the City Council in 1990. More recently, black unionist Wendell Harris of Milwaukee won 20 percent of the vote in the 2000 Mayoral election. The party has consequently grown from 600 in nearly 1,500 in just the past 5 years. However, power struggles have arisen over recent issues. This infighting has caused a lot of effort to be wasted on negative factionalism. The SP publishes a magazine, The Socialist, and an internal discussion bulletin, Hammer and Tongs.

Current tendencies within the SP include the leftist Debs Tendency, the Fist and Rose Tendency, and the Grassroots Tendency.

This page is part of the Field Guide to the Left.