A Pew Research Center survey found support for democratic socialist political leaders is strongest among liberal, younger, white, college-educated and higher-income Democrats.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Nearly one-third of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they like political leaders who identify as democratic socialists, according to a new Pew Research Center survey released as democratic socialist candidates notch a series of high-profile primary victories.
The Pew Research Center survey found that 32% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents view democratic socialist leaders favorably. Another 56% said they neither like nor dislike them, while 11% said they dislike such leaders.
The findings come after democratic socialist candidates and candidates backed by democratic socialist groups won several Democratic primaries in recent weeks, including races in New York City and Colorado.
Americans overall were far less favorable toward democratic socialist political leaders. Pew found that 38% of U.S. adults said they dislike leaders who identify as democratic socialists, while 17% said they like them.
The survey showed a sharp ideological split within the Democratic coalition. Among liberal Democrats, 52% said they like leaders who identify as democratic socialists, while just 4% said they dislike them.
Support was much lower among conservative and moderate Democrats. In that group, 15% said they like democratic socialist leaders, 17% said they dislike them and 66% said they neither like nor dislike them.
The poll also found major differences by race, age, education and income.
White Democrats were the most likely to express favorable views of democratic socialist leaders, with 40% saying they like them. That compared with 21% of black Democrats, 20% of Hispanic Democrats and 30% of Asian Democrats.
Younger Democrats were also more receptive. Among Democrats under 30, 39% said they like leaders who identify as democratic socialists. That share fell to 35% among Democrats ages 30 to 49 and 26% among Democrats 50 and older.
Education and income also appeared to shape attitudes. Democrats with college degrees were more likely than those without degrees to view democratic socialist leaders favorably, 41% to 26%. Among upper-income Democrats, 40% expressed favorable views, compared with 34% of middle-income Democrats and 24% of lower-income Democrats.
Democrats who closely follow government and politics were also more likely to say they like democratic socialist leaders than Democrats who pay less attention to political affairs.
The survey results come as democratic socialist candidates have gained momentum in Democratic primaries. Last week, democratic socialist-backed candidates defeated incumbent Reps. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., and Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., in New York City. On Tuesday, Democratic Socialist candidate Melat Kiros defeated 15-term Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., extending the movement’s recent winning streak beyond New York.
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told JNS that the Pew findings help explain why democratic socialist candidates have become increasingly competitive in Democratic primaries.
“Those who like candidates who identify as democratic socialists likely comprise a larger share of that electorate than the 32% they are of the broader general election Democratic coalition since they skew heavily to groups … who tend to consume more political news and participate more extensively in politics,” Olsen said.
“Given this data, the only surprising thing about democratic socialist primary wins is that there haven’t been more of them thus far,” he added.
The recent primary results have alarmed some congressional Democrats. Axios reported Wednesday that House Democrats viewed DeGette’s loss as a “wake-up call.” One Democratic lawmaker said the result reflected “an appetite for newer, younger blood” in parts of the party, while another said the Democratic Socialists of America’s success among young, college-educated voters “is literally their entire playbook.”
The Pew findings also follow another recent survey that raised questions about patriotism and national identity among Democrats ahead of America’s 250th anniversary. An Economist/YouGov poll highlighted by Breitbart News found that 8% of Democrats considered the United States the “greatest” country in the world, while nearly four in 10 Democrats said they were ashamed to be American.
The Pew survey was conducted Jan. 20-26 among 8,512 U.S. adults.
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