Brittany Kubicek, a member of Rhode Island Democratic Socialists of America (RI DSA), is running for the Rhode Island State House District 5 seat in Providence as an “independent socialist” and her name will be listed on the ballot as “Independent – Socialist.” This is a break with the national DSA’s approach of endorsing Democratic Party candidates and running as Democrats. Beginning in 2023, RI DSA stopped supporting the Democratic Party. They voted for a resolution that included: “Rhode Island DSA will begin endorsing independent socialist candidates in order to encourage the construction of a working-class socialist party in Rhode Island.”
The Independent Socialist Group (ISG) calls for a vote for Brittany Kubicek for Rhode Island State House, and we call for working-class people to get involved in her campaign’s activities, including stand-outs, meetings, canvassing, leafleting, etc. We support the campaign’s intention to continue organizing after election day with union activists, progressives, left groups, and others in order to build a movement for a workers’ party in Rhode Island and beyond. We call for other left and workers’ organizations to take similar steps and to support and get involved in the Brittany for RI campaign. We call for the unions and the labor movement to throw their weight behind the campaign.
We believe the socialist Brittany Kubicek campaign has potential for strong support based on running as an independent and not falling into the trap of the Democratic Party, and we think the campaign can play a key role in helping to push other DSA chapters and members towards political independence for the working class. This campaign represents a clear alternative for working-class people to vote for in this election. It’s also key that the campaign sees the need for strong ties with the labor movement. We see the Brittany for RI campaign as an important opportunity for progressives, activists, socialists, and working-class people to actively organize for key demands her campaign raises that we need to support in the fight against capitalism and the pro-corporate politics of the Democratic and Republican parties.
RI DSA, as reflected in ISG’s interview with them in January 2025, sees its role as helping to fight for political independence within DSA, against the pro-Democratic Party majority, and helping to establish a broader independent socialist party by working together with other organizations. They believe in the removal of capitalism and that it can’t be reformed away through elections. The first point they list about the kind of mass socialist party they hope to help build, from their 2023 resolution: “A commitment to defeat capitalism through class struggle. The party’s goal is to win political power for the working class, but with the understanding that the current system of government is only partially democratic and workers will not be able to wield power by simply electing a majority.”
RI DSA also staunchly stands against collaborating with any corporate party or politicians. As they state in their 2023 resolution for building a mass socialist party: “The party does not make alliances with capitalists or their politicians. Socialist politicians avoid backroom deals and instead fight for reforms by calling out corrupt officials, unmasking the capitalist system, and encouraging mass movements.” On the front page of the website, the campaign states: “WE NEED A PARTY FOR THE WORKING CLASS.” It goes on to state, “Both Democrats and Republicans pass laws to protect corporations while we struggle to afford housing, medical care, and basic necessities…The Rhode Island chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is building an alternative to the two-party status quo.” The campaign’s website also lists the following points under “What We Fight For”:
- We fight for socialism. Rhode Island DSA’s purpose is to unite workers in Rhode Island with workers across the world in a movement for socialism: government by and for the working class.
- We fight for an independent, working-class, socialist party. We must establish a party for workers to preserve the political independence of our class, assess the strength of our movement, and develop a strategy to protect our interests and win power.
- We fight for a militant, democratic labor movement. Without the labor of their employees, capitalists cannot turn a profit. Because of this, workers have enormous power when they strike. When workers unite across industries, they can win major political demands by bringing the economy to a halt.
From our interactions, discussions, and joint campaigning with RI DSA, we in the Independent Socialist Group agree with the political conclusions and seriousness of RI DSA’s electoral approach, campaigning work, and program. We applaud RI DSA for taking a stand on the key question of political independence for the working class. In the lead-up to Brittany’s campaign, the RI DSA chapter canvassed to identify what issues would resonate most with working-class people in District 5 neighborhoods. They found housing was one of the foremost concerns, especially since Providence has experienced some of the highest rent increases in the country, landing it in 2025 as the most unaffordable city nationwide for renters.
The Brittany for RI campaign front page highlights five key demands under the headlines of housing, healthcare, power in the workplace, and energy and infrastructure:
- A statewide rent freeze and affordable, public owned housing.
- Quality [health]care for all Rhode Islanders, free at the point of service
- $30 minimum wage, freedom to unionize, right to strike
- Public takeover of Rhode Island Energy
- Full funding for RIPTA and public transportation
ISG is in full agreement with the leading demands of the campaign and RI DSA’s long-term strategic orientation towards building independent socialist working-class politics. We are also in general agreement with the full detailed platform and program of Brittany’s campaign, which also includes specific demands for building up public Rhode Island infrastructure, opposing repression by ICE and police, putting forward policies against climate change, strong support for increasing funding for public education, and for supporting the Palestinian people through stopping state investment in Israeli bonds and any corporations involved in sustaining “genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and the occupation of Palestine.”
The Brittany for RI campaign understands that just electing a leftist to office isn’t enough. In Brittany’s speech at her campaign launch, which can be found here, she says, “Now this doesn’t happen with just one politician. This doesn’t just happen with me. This needs to be a movement. We have to be organizing in all aspects of our lives….We have to be organizing with our family members, with our coworkers, in our communities, and also politically. Our job as socialists is to help the working class fight for itself.” (12:20) As revolutionary socialists, we in ISG agree with this understanding of how independent electoral campaigns are crucial to helping the working class build its own power.
The campaign has an opportunity to help build a movement of working-class people to win the demands that would raise living standards. It will be essential to mobilize working-class people if a single, isolated socialist in a Democrat-dominated legislature is going to overcome the obstacles that the capitalist class will put in our way. Brittany Kubicek will need the support of a mass movement, not just to win and to deliver on the demands, but also as a counterweight to the pro-capitalist Democratic Party in Rhode Island that will try to block Brittany and her demands.
The program and demands of the Brittany Kubicek campaign are a step forward for the political independence of the U.S. working class. The Independent Socialist Group looks forward to supporting the campaign and discussing ways to advance socialist ideas and the fight for a new working-class party in the mid-term elections and beyond.
For more on ISG’s approach to electoral politics, please visit the “Elections” section of our website. Here are some specific articles we would like to highlight:
- Mamdani’s “Governance” or Class Struggle?
- How a New, Union-Backed Workers’ Party Could Win In the Next Elections
- The “Dead End Politics” of the Democratic Party
- Why Labor Unions and the Working Class Need a Workers’ Party
- Why Elections Matter in the Fight for Socialism
- The Need for Independent Working-Class Politics
- What We Stand For
Independent Socialist Group 