Poll finds 29% of Americans open to voting for a democratic socialist candidate

A new public opinion survey in the United States suggests that nearly one-third of voters would be willing to support a democratic socialist candidate in an election.

According to the joint Economist/YouGov poll, 29% of respondents said they would be willing to vote for a democratic socialist candidate, while 45% said they would not support such a candidate. Another 26% said they were undecided.

The survey comes after democratic socialist candidates posted recent electoral successes in New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles and the state of Colorado.

The democratic socialist movement in the US has gained significantly greater visibility, particularly since the election of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani last year.

Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders brought the modern democratic socialist movement into the mainstream of US politics during his 2016 presidential campaign, a process that was followed several years later by the election of Democratic New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The two politicians are widely regarded as the most prominent figures of democratic socialism in contemporary American politics.

In a post on social media platform X, Senator Bernie Sanders said: “When I look at the recent progressive victories in Colorado and elsewhere, and at the successful organizing campaigns taking root across the country, I believe we may be on the verge of the political revolution we have been fighting for.”

The Economist/YouGov survey also examined broader public attitudes toward the concept of socialism. It found that 32% of respondents viewed socialism “very favorably” or “somewhat favorably,” while 39% said they viewed it “somewhat unfavorably” or “very unfavorably.” Another 29% said they were undecided on the issue.

The Economist/YouGov survey was conducted between June 26 and June 29 among 1,606 respondents. The poll’s margin of error was 3.2%.