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AUSTIN, TEXAS — Former U.S. ambassador and lifelong Democrat Rahm Emanuel doubled down on his declaration that democratic socialists don’t belong in his party while expressing support for a far-left candidate competing in one of the most highly contested Senate races in the midterms.
“Democratic Socialists are a separate party. I’ll see you in November,” Emanuel told Digital at the Texas Tribune Festival.
Emanuel, who has been mulling a 2028 presidential bid, has been outspoken against the far-left. While he insisted that the Democratic Socialists of America are their own party, they’ve made their mark on the Democratic ballot, particularly in the 2026 midterms.
Democratic socialists have won several congressional Democratic primaries across the country, including three candidates in New York City that were endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani as well as Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania, Melat Kiros in Colorado and Florida Senate hopeful Angie Dixon.
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Former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel speaks at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/ Digital)
Despite the major gains this election cycle, Emanuel insisted there’s no “takeover” of his party.
“You think people wanna support defunding the police? You think they wanna support open borders, open prisons? Run on it. I don’t, and that’s not the party’s position,” Emanuel said. “Now, we will have healthy debate among progressive and pragmatic wing of the party. That’s what a coalition party looks like. But that is it. You had a party convention!”
“Swing voters in swing states swing presidential elections. That is it. It’s not more complicated. And you better be focused on winning,” he added.
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Emanuel denied there was a Democratic Socialist “takeover” of the Democratic Party despite three Democratic Socialist candidates, Claire Valdez, Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier — all endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, won their Democratic primaries in three congressional races. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Prominent Democratic Socialists like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have rallied behind Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, though El-Sayed claims not to be a socialist himself.
While speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival, Emanuel didn’t hesitate to praise Democratic Texas Senate nominee James Talarico, calling him “strong” and admiring Talarico for being “comfortable” about discussing his faith.
But when asked by Digital moments later whether he supports El-Sayed’s candidacy, Emanuel initially hedged.
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Emanuel expressed his support for Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed during an interview with Digital. (Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Look, I mean, it doesn’t matter what I do … it matters what the Michigan voters think,” he told Digital. “And that’s what’s gonna determine this in this effort. And I support the Democrats winning the Senate.”
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“So, in effect, you do hope that he wins that race for Democrats,” Digital followed.
“Yeah,” Emanuel answered.
Digital’s Brian Flood contributed to this report.
