Leftist insurgents are storming the midterms – just don’t call them all democratic socialists

From left, Angie Nixon, Abdul El-Sayed and Nithya Raman. Composite: South Florida Sun Sentinel, Getty Images, Los Angeles Times

Days before he won the Democratic primary for a US Senate seat in Michigan, insurgent newcomer Abdul El-Sayed was asked whether he was concerned about being labeled a “socialist”.

“I’d rather think of myself as a capitalist who has actually read about capitalism,” El-Sayed told CBS News anchor Ed O’Keefe. “I’m not a socialist.”