Jacobin Radio Dig: Three Million Doors w/ Tascha Van Auken
Dec 6, 2025
Tascha Van Auken, a lead organizer and field director known for her pivotal role in NYC DSA's electoral strategy, shares fascinating insights on effective grassroots campaigning. She discusses mobilizing a whopping 100,000 volunteers for Zohran Mamdani's mayoral race, the importance of democratic practices in organizing, and lessons learned from past campaigns. Tascha emphasizes the transformative power of canvassing, the relationship between activists and governance, and the future of replicating successful strategies across movements.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Long-Term Organizing Wins Big
- NYC-DSA's decade-long organizing built the conditions for a socialist mayor to win in 2024.
- Long-term power-building, not a single campaign, enabled the victory.
From Blue Man Group To Campaign Training
- Tasha learned team-building and safe experimental spaces at Blue Man Group.
- She applied that culture to political trainings and campaign teams.
Obama Field Raised The Bar
- The 2008 Obama field operation showed the power of relationship-based organizing.
- That model set a benchmark Tasha carried into later socialist campaigns.
