By Eva McKend, Gloria Pazmino, CNN

New York (CNN) — The Democratic Socialists of America held their national convention this summer in the afterglow of arguably their biggest electoral victory to date: Zohran Mamdani’s triumph in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor.

They then passed a series of resolutions that Mamdani critics are now trying to make a political liability ahead of November’s election.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary, is calling attention to democratic socialist policies and argues Mamdani isn’t being challenged enough on them.

The DSA now bans its individual chapters from supporting or contributing funds to law enforcement, opposes measures that would fund border control and calls for a carbon-free economy and the returning of land to indigenous communities. Cuomo has pointed to DSA’s calls to end criminal penalties for misdemeanor crimes and close prisons as well as its strident criticism of Israel.

“People have a right to know before they vote,” said Cuomo at a news conference Wednesday.

Mamdani lists himself as a democratic socialist in his social media profiles and has close ties to DSA officials in New York City and nationally. The 33-year-old state assemblyman gave a keynote address at their national conference in 2023 but has only been endorsed by the New York City chapter of the DSA for his mayoral bid.

Mamdani reiterated to reporters that he does not support decriminalizing misdemeanors or defunding the police, despite his past tweets criticizing the New York Police Department.

“My specific policy proposals are the ones that I talk about, the ones that I share on my platform, on my website,” Mamdani said Thursday when asked about the DSA’s resolutions. “Those are the ones that I want New Yorkers to hold me accountable to.”

Officials with the national organization say they do not endorse a candidate unless the local chapter files a formal request, which the New York City chapter hasn’t done. But they say they are proud of Mamdani and resist the notion that his affiliation with socialism is a liability.

“While sometimes, especially with older generations, there is sometimes the big scary ‘S’ word, socialism, younger folks really see that capitalism is not working out for them. It is causing mass incarceration. It is causing defunding of schools and playgrounds and it’s causing them to not have healthcare. And these policies really resonate with voters,” said Megan Romer, co-chair of the DSA.

Another DSA co-chair, Ashik Siddique, said in a statement that the group was “proud to count Zohran as a member.”

“While we are proud that Zohran works closely with NYC-DSA, we also understand his platform for mayor is not identical to the DSA National platform,” Siddique said.

The DSA at its August national convention passed an exhaustive compendium of resolutions, more than 300 pages long.

Here’s a look at the DSA and what it laid out in its policy resolutions.

Who are the Democratic Socialists of America?

Formed in the 1970s as a result of the merging of two groups, the DSA was created with the intent of promoting workers’ rights but has expanded to champion an array of socialist policies.

“We want to collectively own the key economic drivers that dominate our lives, such as energy production and transportation. We want the multiracial working class united in solidarity instead of divided by fear,” they explain on their website. “We want to win ‘radical’ reforms like single-payer Medicare for All, defunding the police/refunding communities, the Green New Deal, and more as a transition to a freer, more just life.”

Strident criticism of law enforcement

The DSA explicitly prohibits chapters from supporting or contributing funds to law enforcement and candidates from receiving endorsements from police-affiliated groups. By extension, DSA members cannot be in law enforcement.

Their vision for a “Democratic Socialist Republic” includes “replacing existing law enforcement agencies with a public safety force run by local communities for de-escalation and protecting democratic and social rights.” They also call for banning former officers from joining the organization and eliminating qualified immunity.

When asked about these policies, Romer, the DSA national co-chair, characterized them as more of their long-term goals for society and less of the rigid checklist that it comes across as outlined in the compendium.

“We are pragmatists, and we do understand that being in office right now means working with the system as it is and modifying it as we can to make it move toward where we want it to be,” she said.

For his part, Mamdani is not actively campaigning on antagonizing police despite his past support for the defund movement.

“I am not defunding the police. I am not running to defund the police,” he told reporters in July.

A commitment to establishing Palestine and supporting ‘the student intifada’

The DSA’s compendium repeatedly refers to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide and calls for a single-state solution “from the river to the sea” – a phrase that supporters of Israel say calls for the elimination of the Jewish state.

“DSA fundamentally supports the right of resistance of Palestinians and supports the ability of the organizations involved on the ground to carry out that liberatory vision,” it reads.

They also call for supporting “the student intifada,” demonstrations of Palestinian solidarity on college campuses.

Supporters of Israel see calls for an “intifada” as glorifying violence against Jews.

Mamdani during the primary was criticized for declining to disavow the phrase “globalize the intifada” in a media interview. After winning the primary, he told business leaders that he would discourage use of the phrase.

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