A majority of Democratic voters say they would support a candidate who openly identifies as a “Democratic Socialist,” according to a new Economist/YouGov poll, underscoring the growing influence of the party’s progressive wing ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The survey found that 62% of Democrats said they would vote for a candidate identifying as a Democratic Socialist, while just 11% said they would not. Another 27% said they were unsure.
Across all respondents, however, Americans remain more skeptical of the label. Forty-five percent said they would not vote for a Democratic Socialist, compared to 29% who said they would and 26% who remained undecided.
The partisan divide was particularly pronounced.
Among Republicans, 85% said they would not support a Democratic Socialist, while only 5% of those who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024 said they would consider doing so.
Independents also leaned against the ideology, with 40% saying they would not vote for a Democratic Socialist compared to 24% who said they would.
Support was strongest among self-described liberals, with 73% indicating they would vote for a Democratic Socialist. Likewise, 64% of former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 voters said they would support such a candidate.
The survey also found that many Democrats now view socialism more positively than capitalism.
Thirty-four percent of Democrats said they have a more favorable opinion of socialism, while only 22% selected capitalism. Overall, 58% of Democrats said they view socialism favorably.
The findings come as the Democratic Party continues to grapple with its ideological direction following the rise of openly socialist candidates in several high-profile races.
The movement gained fresh momentum after New York City elected democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor. Since then, several candidates backed by Mamdani have defeated more establishment-aligned Democrats in state legislative primaries, highlighting the growing influence of the party’s left flank.
Speaking recently on Breitbart News Daily, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he finds the trend concerning.
“I wrote a book a few years ago, The Case Against Socialism, and in it we talked about some of the polls where, you know, majority of young people are thinking, hey, socialism sounds good, why don’t we try it,” Paul said.
Paul argued many younger voters associate socialism with economic fairness rather than its historical examples.
“What they understand it to be is fairness,” he said. “They’re like, well, it’s just not fair that you make twice as much money as me, and we’re just going to make it fair.”
The Kentucky senator pointed to countries including Venezuela, Cuba, China, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia as examples of socialism’s failures, arguing that equal economic outcomes often produce shortages and declining prosperity.
“It’s ignorance, but it is alarming,” Paul said. “The other possibility, though, is [the] left goes so far left that maybe they can’t win general elections, but in New York, all these people will win.”
The Economist/YouGov survey was conducted June 26-29 among 1,606 U.S. adults and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
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