Four candidates supported by the Democratic Socialists of America won primaries in Pennsylvania state House races, HuffPost is reporting.
"It feels like a monumental shift," the group's Pittsburgh co-chair, Arielle Cohen, told HuffPost. "We won on popular demands that were deemed impossible. We won on health care for all; we won on free education."
She added, "We're turning the state the right shade of red tonight."
Pittsburgh DSA strongly backed two Democrats in particular: attorney and labor organizer Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato, who founded the women's advocacy group She Runs Southwestern PA, both of whom are dues-paying members of the organization.
They each outperformed veteran politicians Paul and Dom Costa, who are Pittsburgh-area state representatives and cousins. Neither woman will face a Republican opponent in the general election.
"It's not even close," Paul Costa told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after conceding. "Their campaign did a lot better job of getting people out to vote. They energized a lot of people, and they showed up at the polls."
The group also supported Elizabeth Fiedler, a former public radio reporter, and Kristin Seale, an executive at a Pennsylvania energy nonprofit. Fiedler, who beat state Senate aide Jonathan Rowan in the primary, will not face a Republican opponent, while Seale goes up against incumbent Rep. Christopher Quinn.
"The campaign shows that a working person can run for office with a people-powered campaign based on strong values and win," Fiedler said after her victory, according to Philly.com.
"I am so proud of the campaign we ran and the movement we built."