With growing membership rolls, Missoula’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter is fielding four city council candidates on the November ballot, with its leaders hoping to harness frustration over housing costs, low wages and the Trump administration to expand the left-wing movement’s foothold in Montana politics.

Interest in the organization is partly driven by the popularity of democratic socialists such as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose “Fighting Oligarchy” rally drew a crowd of nearly 7,500 in Missoula earlier this year. Additionally, local and national DSA leaders told Montana Free Press that in Missoula and across the country, people are fed up with the current system and are more open to alternatives to capitalism.

RELATED

Thousands rally in Missoula for Bernie Sanders,

See Full Page