DSA Fort Collins Endorsement Process

“Our candidates are socialist organizers with a relationship to a working-class base, not just individuals who run on ‘good ideas.’”
“We are special as DSA electeds not because of ourselves, we are special because of our organization.”
– Zohran Mamdani, NYC DSA-endorsed candidate for New York City mayor, 2023 DSA Convention Keynote
“DSAFC’s endorsement was instrumental to my campaign’s ability to build a people-powered movement in HD-52.”
– Yara Zokaie, DSAFC-endorsed Colorado State House member

What is a DSA Endorsement?

Our chapter wages class-struggle elections. This means that we run campaigns that directly confront the capitalist class and win material improvements for the working class. For a campaign to successfully transfer power from the capitalist class to the working class, it must be able to enlist a substantial proportion of our membership, offer opportunities for those members to develop as leaders, and enable the organizational growth of our chapter. All of our chapter’s electoral decisions are determined through the democratic votes of our dues-paying members.

If you receive an endorsement from DSA Fort Collins, that means that our members are ready to launch a grassroots, working-class movement inside your district that will be door-knocking, phonebanking, and recruiting new volunteers to do the same. Rather than simply a rubber-stamp of support, we reserve endorsements for the candidates we are ready to truly fight for. Our campaigns are modeled after the DSA Difference, an electoral strategy that transforms volunteers into seasoned organizers by empowering them to take mass, collective action. When we endorse a candidate, we are committing to developing a sustained relationship with them throughout their campaign, and–if they succeed–as they govern. We believe that electoral endorsements are critical to building democratic socialism, because elections are the primary avenue through which the vast majority of working people experience politics.

How Do I Apply for DSA Fort Collins’ Endorsement?

Step 1: Meet with DSAFC’s Elections Committee Chair

If you are interested in being endorsed, please email us at dsafortcollins@gmail.com, say you’re interested in being endorsed, specify which office you’re running for, and we will set-up a one-on-one meeting with you and our chapter’s Elections Committee chair. At this meeting, you’ll be briefed on what to expect from the process and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions.

Step 2: Fill-Out Our Endorsement Questionnaire

After meeting with the Elections Committee chair, please review and respond to the 2025 Endorsement Questionnaires here:

We will share the completed questionnaire with our members who will be able to read it for at least one week before a chapter-wide candidate forum.

Step 3: Submit a Resolution for Endorsement

Following the submission of the questionnaire, a resolution calling for your endorsement must be co-sponsored by at least three dues-paying DSAFC members and sent to DSAFC’s Steering Committee at least 2 weeks before the General Meeting when your endorsement will be considered. Once the resolution has been submitted, our Steering Committee will agendize a discussion on the endorsement for the General Meeting, provided that the candidate attends the chapter-wide forum.

Step 4: Participate in a Chapter-Wide Candidate Forum

Following the submission of the questionnaire, our Steering Committee will contact you to schedule a chapter-wide candidate forum at least one week after the questionnaire’s submission and at least three days prior to the General Meeting where the resolution for endorsement will be discussed. At this forum, our members will ask you additional questions which may build on the answers provided in your completed questionnaire. The forum will typically be held in-person, will be at least one hour in length, and will be recorded and uploaded privately to our YouTube channel for internal distribution.

Step 5: Motivate Your Endorsement at a General Meeting

If you have completed all of the aforementioned steps, then our Steering Committee will create an online endorsement ballot through OpaVote which will be sent to all members on the Thursday prior to the General Meeting where the endorsement resolution will be discussed. This online vote will be open from Thursday until the end of Monday (five days in length). At the Saturday General Meeting, you will have the opportunity to speak in favor of your own candidacy and answer any remaining questions that arise during the debate over the endorsement resolution. If two thirds (66%) of members vote “yes” on the online ballot, then you will be endorsed. Our chapter will contact you and subsequently make a public announcement.

Voter Guide Recommendations

In addition to endorsements, our chapter makes recommendations in our voter guides. Recommendations state voting preferences but are not accompanied with material support. If you are not interested in being endorsed but are interested in being recommended, you do not have to fill out the endorsement questionnaire or go through the other steps of the endorsement process. Instead, please email us at dsafortcollins@gmail.com, say you’re interested in being recommended, specify what office you’re running for, and we will set up an opportunity for you to make your case to the Elections Committee before a voter guide is written.

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