Socialist candidates win in Seattle and DC Democratic primaries

Summary

Two American cities are navigating the political rise of self-described socialists in local government, and the results are drawing scrutiny from very different directions. In Seattle, Mayor Katie Wilson has come under fire for what critics describe as a cosmetic cleanup ahead of World Cup matches at Lumen Field: moving homeless people and drug users away from the stadium and downtown hotels, then presenting the city as ready for the international spotlight. In Washington, D.C., voters in the Democratic primary backed Janeese Lewis George, a socialist candidate who has made resisting Donald Trump a central plank of her platform. George's victory margin was decisive, suggesting that in at least one major Democratic electorate, the socialist label is not the liability it once was. The Seattle situation raises a sharper and older question: whether high-profile events like the World Cup produce genuine civic improvement or just a reshuffling of visible problems. Wilson's critics say the answer is the latter. George's critics, meanwhile, worry less about her local agenda and more about what a socialist majority on the D.C. Council signals for governance in the nation's capital.