WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump along with his fellow Republicans are bringing back a familiar line of criticism against Democrats as midterm elections approach: labeling them communists.

Over the past week alone, Trump has issued stark warnings that rising figures on the Democratic left are communists intent on "completely destroying the traditional American way of life" and even carrying out assassinations. Vice President JD Vance has likewise highlighted communism as a political shift "something we haven't seen in the U.S." House Speaker Mike Johnson has condemned "radical candidates" who are "self-described, self-identifying Marxists."

The GOP's ideological push blends democratic socialism, which often focuses on universal healthcare, higher taxes on the wealthy and tighter corporate rules, with communism, where private ownership is mostly removed. This approach has grown since Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, captured the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor last year.

Yet it has accelerated lately after democratic socialists secured several New York City congressional primaries last week. The primary win on Tuesday by another democratic socialist, Melat Kiros, for a Denver congressional seat indicated the pattern could reach past Manhattan liberalism.

"The Democrats are making this easy for us," Rep. Richard Hudson, the North Carolina Republican who heads the House GOP's strategy and fundraising arm, said in an interview. "They're nominating extreme liberals, leftists who are out of touch even with mainstream Democrats."

The messaging push arrives as Republicans work to retain slim congressional majorities in the November midterms. It carries the risk of ignoring public discontent, especially among younger voters, over unchecked capitalism amid rising income gaps and climbing costs.

Still, it offers Republicans a valuable chance to redirect discussion to familiar ground after the party has spent much of the year defending against fallout from Trump's choice to start a war against Iran, which led to broad price increases.

Ralph Reed, the veteran conservative activist who welcomed Trump last week at a Faith and Freedom Coalition conference, noted that Republicans face tough challenges this year. Yet the recent successes by democratic socialists, he said, let Republicans draw a line between "common sense and crazy."

The renewed effort could highlight divisions among Democrats who share strong opposition to Trump but differ on the party's path forward. This year's primaries are emerging as a test between centrists seeking to adjust from what they view as progressive excess earlier in the decade and a left wing calling for broader reforms.

"A lot of this anger has been boiling under the surface," said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, which was started by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who aligns with Democrats. "It's coming to the fore in this moment in a very powerful way."

But Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a centrist New Jersey Democrat, described the wins in Colorado and New York as "aberrations."

"We've got to fight like hell to keep our party from being hijacked by socialists," he said. "Most of them are bomb throwers, not problem solvers."

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford handily defeated a more progressive opponent earlier this year in his Democratic run for governor in a state Trump won in 2024. As he prepares for a general election matchup against Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, he stressed that candidates like those who succeeded in New York do not speak for all Democrats.

He said the Democratic Socialists of America "is not the face of our party."

Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Washington Democrat who leads the House Democratic campaign committee, said in a statement that Republicans were "resorting to desperate attacks that aren't actually about the pocketbook issues."

Trump and fellow Republicans risk misjudging the moment when public support for capitalism may not be as firm as in past decades.