How Pittsburgh became the early alarm bell for the DSA’s rise

PITTSBURGH — The rise of the Democratic left in Pittsburgh did not happen overnight.

It was built over years through patient organizing, disciplined recruiting, and a clear-eyed focus on the races that mattered most: low-turnout primaries where entrenched power was vulnerable.

Mik Pappas’s 2017 race for Pennsylvania’s 31st Magisterial District judge offered an early hint […] ...