As recently as 15 or so years ago, if you accused the Democrats of supporting socialism, they’d accuse you of being a liar who was engaging in scare tactics. But now, the label is embraced like a badge of honor.
Election cycles over the last ten years have confirmed the trend, with virtually every member of the so-called congressional “Squad” admitting to being a Democratic Socialist Party member, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
More recently, Zohran Mamdani was elected as mayor of New York City in 2025, as was Seattle’s Katie Wilson, and it appears that another Democratic socialist, Janeese Lewis George, will be Washington, D.C.’s next mayor after her victory in this past week’s mayoral primary.
So while it’s no surprise that support for Democratic socialism is on the rise in the Democratic Party, fresh polling confirms it irrefutably, according to an analysis of past and present numbers by CNN‘s chief data analyst Harry Enten:
Yes, you know, you mentioned New York. You mentioned Vermont. Obviously, there’s the D.C. mayor. We’ve seen it in Pennsylvania as well. The Democratic socialists seem to be doing considerably better than they used to be. And they have the chance to knock off, in fact, Democratic incumbents in Congress.And part of the reason for that, why we’re seeing these Democratic socialists having such good chances or downright, outright winning nominations, is take a look here. Net favorability among Dems. Democratic socialists of America.Look at that. A plus 17 point net favorability rate among Democrats. That is actually better. That is better than how congressional Democrats are viewed by Democrats [at just plus] four points. So no wonder that Democratic socialists have such a good chance, because simply put, they are a better brand at this point than Democrats in Congress.
It stands to reason that with a rise in the popularity of socialism among Democrats also comes a significant drop in their support for capitalism from 2010 til now:
The favorable rating among Democrats on socialism and capitalism. Look at this. In 2010, they were about equal.50 percent had a favorable view of socialism. 51 percent said the same about capitalism. But capitalism has absolutely fallen through the floor.Look at this. It’s now just 42 percent of Democrats who have a favorable view of capitalism. Socialism, on the other hand, up like a rocket.Look at this. Two in three Democrats have a favorable view of socialism. So socialism is on the rise among Democrats. Capitalism is on the decline among Democrats.
Watch:
Enten also noted that the Kalshi prediction market is predicting two more Democratic socialists to make it past the primary in New York City on Tuesday:
The second race he referred to, however, has seen a dramatic 10-point shift away from the Democratic socialist challenger to the incumbent:
Graham Platner, who embraced socialism at sites like Reddit and who has been endorsed by Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), is the Democratic Party’s Maine Senate nominee.
Abdul El-Sayed, another Sanders-backed Senate candidate who embraces Democratic socialist ideals, is currently in the top two in the Michigan primary race. DSA member Nithya Raman advanced past the Los Angeles mayoral primary to take on incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass.
Fellow DSA member Melat Kiros is currently giving Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), who has been in Congress for 30 years, a run for her money in the party’s primary for the First Congressional District.
Clearly, they aren’t going away anytime soon.
– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –
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