The Berkshires chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has endorsed Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate Joe Tache in his bid for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, backing his candidacy as a show of solidarity between socialist groups.
The Berkshires DSA announced its endorsement Sunday, stating that differences between groups should take a secondary role to advancing larger socialist goals. It more specifically tied its support of Tache to economic conditions in the Berkshires, a largely rural region of western Massachusetts that saw its once influential manufacturing base diminish considerably over time.
“The Berkshires DSA sees the crises of Capitalism and views solidarity between SOCIALISTS as of the utmost importance,” the chapter stated. “The movement as a whole takes precedence over what organizations we might be members of. This is why Berkshires DSA stands firmly and resolutely in support of PSL candidate for Senate, Joe Tache!”
The chapter referenced what it called the “scars of Capitalism” on the region, including abandoned factories, high housing costs, and problems stemming from homelessness and addiction. It also blamed the influence of outside investors and landlords, who it said have profited from the region while leaving local residents with fewer affordable housing options.
“In the richest state in the richest country on Earth, nobody should be going without while a few have it all,” the chapter stated. “The Berkshires needs Socialism. Massachusetts needs Socialism. America needs Socialism.”
According to his biography, Tache is an organizer from the Boston area who has been active with the Party for Socialism and Liberation since 2018. He launched his Senate campaign in October 2025, challenging Democratic incumbent Sen. Ed Markey on a platform calling for shifting much of the economy away from private ownership and toward public control.
His campaign calls capitalism a “national emergency” and proposes a series of responses that include seizing the country’s 100 largest corporations and converting them to public property, along with a 100% tax on assets above $10 million. Tache also calls for replacing privately held fossil fuel infrastructure with a publicly built renewable energy grid, guaranteeing union employment through what his campaign calls a “People’s Corps,” and cutting the U.S. military budget by 90 percent.
The Berkshires DSA’s endorsement of his campaign follows earlier support from the Workers Party of Massachusetts, which backed Tache shortly after he entered the race last year. The Workers Party similarly called for greater cooperation among socialist organizations, saying at the time that it hoped to establish a “socialist electoral alliance” that would provide material support for one another’s candidates and build a more unified presence in Massachusetts.
Unlike Socialism and Liberation or the Workers Party, however, the DSA itself does not operate as a distinct political party, though it maintains an electoral presence akin to a quasi-party. The national organization has generally conducted its partisan electoral work through candidates running on the Democratic ballot line rather than on a ballot line of its own, while still operating separately from the Democratic Party with its own endorsements and policy goals.
That said, the DSA has taken steps toward a more independent electoral strategy in recent years. Delegates to its 2025 national convention approved an approach that included running candidates on independent ballot lines, while the Berkshires chapter’s endorsement of Tache provides a more recent example at the regional level. The national organization has also said its long-term goal is to eventually build an independent mass socialist party.
Tache has since qualified for the general election ballot under the “Socialism and Liberation,” which required him to collect at least 10,000 valid signatures. He will face Markey, Republican John Deaton, and independent Shiva Ayyadurai in November.
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