Red Star Caucus

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tagsdsa, marxism, factions

2 min read

Red Star Caucus

Type: faction (within DSA) | Domain relevance: the self-described Marxist-Leninist caucus at the center of the takeover debate — now documented from its own manifesto through official convention tallies.

Summary

A self-identified Marxist-Leninist DSA caucus (“the vanguardist Red Star caucus,” per a fellow leftist) whose strategy is stated openly in its own manifesto: communists should “contest for and win hegemony within” DSA, on the explicit model of “the Bolsheviks… born from the pluralist RSDLP” and Castro’s 26th of July Movement. It disclaims classic entryism (“not agitating against DSA from inside it”; members must have prior DSA activity; the failed Las Vegas Democratic-Party takeover is cited as a lesson against apparatus capture). Its actual strength is now precisely bounded: 3 of 25 NPC seats — including national co-chair megan-romer, who has held the seat since 2023 — making it the co-chair-holding but sixth-largest caucus bloc. At the 2025 convention Red Star notably opposed parts of the CB01 omnibus that contained the democratic-centralism ban repeal.

Key Facts

  • Manifesto: “Communists Belong in DSA” (Aug 2024, updated) — hegemony goal, Bolshevik/RSDLP analogy, anti-entryism disclaimers (redstar-2024-communists-belong-in-dsa).
  • 2023 convention: all three Red Star NPC candidates elected; one (Romer) became co-chair — a paid role created that year. Reelected 2025.
  • 2025 NPC: Romer (co-chair) + Hazel W. (San Francisco) + John L. (New Orleans) = 3 of 25 (metro-detroit-dsa-2025-convention-results).
  • Claims “nearly half of the current NPC members openly identify as communists” (self-reported, pre-expansion 16-seat NPC, undefined test — attribute, don’t adopt).
  • The democratic-centralism ban: Red Star confirms its existence, its anti-entryist purpose, and its 2025 repeal — while noting it was “infrequently used and has not restricted communists organizing inside DSA.”
  • Views CPUSA as bureaucratic and “firmly to the right of DSA on Palestine and orientation towards the Democratic Party.”
  • Do not confuse with “Rochester Red Star,” the Rochester DSA chapter newsletter.

In the Sources

SourceContext
redstar-2024-communists-belong-in-dsaThe caucus in its own words — primary text for the takeover debate
metro-detroit-dsa-2025-convention-resultsHard seat counts: 3 of 25
rochester-red-star-2025-the-future-starts-nowCo-chair confirmation by name and caucus
cosmonaut-2025-party-echoes-at-dsa-convention”Vanguardist” descriptor; Red Star’s objections to the CB01 omnibus
leblanc-2025-learning-from-the-dsa-conventionPlaced in the far-left bloc (~a third of the NPC), not a controlling share
reason-2026-the-democratic-socialist-deceptionThe hostile framing that originally flagged the caucus

Entities: dsa, megan-romer Concepts: entryism, democratic centralism Events: 2025-dsa-national-convention Debates: is-the-dsa-taking-over-the-democratic-party