A new poll suggests that a majority of Americans oppose democratic socialism, but the ideology is gaining traction, especially among Democrats.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey found that 27% of American adults think political leaders who identify as democratic socialists have a lot of good ideas, or at least some good proposals.
A majority of respondents, 51%, say democratic socialists have a few or almost no good ideas, and 20% are unsure.
But among registered Democrats, the survey found that 53% think democratic socialists have a lot or some good ideas, 26% think they have a few or almost none, and 20% are unsure. The data from Democrats has a 5.2% margin of error.
Although democratic socialism’s approval numbers seem low, they are comparable to those of the “Make America Great Again” movement.
When it comes to political leaders who identify with the MAGA movement, 27% of respondents say they have a lot or some good ideas. A combined 58% say MAGA leaders have a few or almost no good ideas, and 13% are not sure.
The survey also found many respondents say they are not familiar with democratic socialists’ ideas.
Just under half (49%) of respondents say they understand the policies and positions of democratic socialist leaders “extremely, “very,” or “somewhat” well.
The other half, 47%, say they understand the policies and positions “not too well” or “not well at all.”
Democratic socialism has enjoyed an ascent during President Trump’s second term, starting with the election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City.
In June, three far-left New York candidates endorsed by the mayor won House primaries, and socialist candidate Melat Kiros defeated Rep. Diana DeGette, a three-decade incumbent in Colorado, in their Democratic primary.
The candidates won running on slogans such as “abolish ICE” and “Medicare for all” and policies such as restricting U.S. aid to Israel, positions that the party’s establishment increasingly embraces.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) recently released an updated platform calling for the abolition of ICE and the Senate, as well as replacing “the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.”
The survey of 1,248 Americans, which concluded Sunday, was conducted over three days and has a 2.9% margin of error for all respondents.
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