Roughly half of U.S. voters view socialism unfavorably in a new poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena University. The results show that despite democratic socialists scoring significant victories against the Democratic establishment, the movement remains unpopular with much of America.
Among likely voters, 51 percent held an unfavorable view of socialism in the poll, compared with 31 percent who viewed it favorably. The poll did not define either socialism or democratic socialism for respondents.
Forty-four percent of voters, however, said it did not matter to them either way if a Democratic candidate was running under the ideological banner. Those results reflect the success of democratic socialists in heavily Democratic House districts in New York, Philadelphia and Denver, as well as in some mayoral races in major cities.
Still, voters nationwide were twice as likely to say they would rather not support a democratic socialist candidate (30 percent) than support one (13 percent).
Nearly one-fifth of U.S. voters (18 percent) said they considered themselves to be democratic socialists, an ideological movement that lacks a singular definition but is most commonly associated with favoring wealth redistribution and upending of capitalism.
Despite their success in urban primaries, democratic socialists remain unproven in more competitive areas. November stands to be a major test, with members of the movement and like-minded progressives attempting to win general election races in states like Michigan and Florida.
Two of the country’s most famous democratic socialists drew diverging reactions among national voters. A plurality — 41 percent — had an unfavorable view of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the progressive Democrat who could be a potential 2028 presidential candidate, compared with 30 percent who held a favorable view of her.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City was holding onto a thin margin with likely voters, with 38 percent viewing him favorably and 33 percent viewing him unfavorably.
About 30 percent of voters had not heard of about each of the politicians or did not offer an opinion of them to pollsters.
Even within their own movement, Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez evoked different responses. Voters who identified as democratic socialists had a slightly more positive view of Mr. Mamdani (76 percent) than of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez (66 percent). Some members of the left view her as having drifted too far toward the mainstream of the Democratic Party for their liking.
Younger voters are much more open to socialism, according to the poll. Voters age 44 and under were nearly twice as likely as older voters to view socialism favorably, and were more likely to view Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez positively than their older counterparts. Voters in that younger age group were also slightly more likely to favor Mr. Mamdani than they were Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.
Democrats continue to have a positive view of socialism, with 55 percent of the party’s voters viewing it favorably — up slightly from a May Times/Siena poll in which 50 percent held a positive view. Roughly 20 percent of Democrats, largely older voters, have a negative view of the ideology.
Republicans have homed in on Americans’ fears about socialism, featuring it heavily in their recent midterm convention and in attack ads. Still, only a small share of the party’s base suggested it was their most motivating issue.
About 5 percent of voters who said they wanted the Republican Party to retain control of Congress said their vote was primarily motivated out of fear of socialism or communism. While small, that is higher than the share of such voters who said they were primarily motivated by supporting President Trump, at 2 percent.
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