How the DSA Is Making Inroads in Battleground North Carolina

On a May evening in Durham, the North Carolina Triangle chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America gathered outside Gateway Women’s Care, and a sitting North Carolina lawmaker stepped into their ranks. Democratic state representative Julie von Haefen stood beside the protesters, later writing in an Instagram post that she had joined Triangle DSA while at the demonstration.

The campaign against the pregnancy resource center began in Raleigh, where the DSA group applied pressure for two years by picketing outside Gateway’s location there, collecting petition signatures, and targeting its lease. When the site closed in early 2025, DSA claimed the outcome as an organizational victory.