Poll: Swing voters, older voters wary of Democratic Socialist candidates

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(The Center Square) – American voters across the political spectrum are divided on whether the rise of Democratic Socialists within the Democratic Party is a sign of positive change or creeping extremism, new polling shows.

The Center Square’s Voters’ Voice Poll reveals that while 59% of Democratic voters think that Democratic Socialists are “energizing the Democratic Party by pushing for bold changes,” nearly a quarter say the ideological group is making the party “too extreme” while 17% are uncertain.

“It's really just like [how] populism came up with the Republican Party,” Mike Noble, founder and CEO of Noble Predictive Insights, told The Center Square. “Democrats are going to have the same transition they're going to have to go through. It's just taking longer.”

By contrast, only 21% of Republicans view the change favorably and 63% say Democratic Socialists are injecting extremism into the Democratic party, while 15% remain unsure. Among Independent voters, 35% say the changes are a good thing and 45% hold an unfavorable view.

True Independents, however, are even more cautious of Democratic Socialist candidates, with 46% remaining undecided and 32% viewing those candidates as too extreme. That means Democratic Socialist candidates will have to work harder to win over these swing voters who are often the deciding factor in major elections.

The poll was conducted by Noble Predictive Insights from Aug. 12-16, surveying 2,533 registered U.S. voters. The sample was comprised of 930 Republicans, 930 Democrats, and 673 Independents. Among independent voters, 330 respondents were classified as True Independents, or individuals who do not lean toward either major party when given the choice. 

The same poll also showed that voters as a whole are concerned about the “growth of socialism or communism,” including 49% of Democrats, as The Center Square previously reported.

The discrepancy in voters’ views of Democratic Socialists versus socialism and communism more broadly may arise from the ideological distinctions Democratic Socialist politicians like New York Mayor Zohran Mandami have attempted to make.

Zohran, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and other prominent Democratic Socialists have denied that they are communists and claimed Democratic Socialism is a separate political philosophy that is compatible with democracy.

“Voters worry about socialism, but are split on Democratic Socialists,” Noble noted. “And from what I would guess, based on some of my previous research, I think that's probably the more traditional wing of the Democratic Party, less of that more liberal arm, [that is] a little bit more concerned.”

Noble also noted the marked generational gaps in the poll regarding concerns about both the growth of socialism and the rise of Democratic Socialist candidates. On both questions, younger voters were significantly more open to the concept of socialism and the political changes proposed by Democratic Socialist candidates.

More than half, 51%, of voters ages 18 to 29 believe Democratic Socialists are energizing the Democratic Party while only 34% view them as extreme. Support steadily decreases as ages rose, with support and opposition levels flipping almost exactly among voters ages 65 and over.

“There's a big generational gap in there, but again, I think it just reads more to the tea leaves of that issue within the Democratic Party. They're trying to tamp this down, but it's going to happen when it happens,” Noble said. “So the socialism label absolutely worries a majority, but if it's younger voters, they see Democratic Socialists as more of an asset than a liability.”

Lower income respondents also tended to view Democratic Socialists in a more positive light, with 41% of voters making less than $50,000 a year believing the candidates are making bold and energizing changes to the Democratic Party. Still, 37% believe those candidates are too extreme and 22% remain unsure.

Views of Democratic Socialism became progressively negative as annual incomes rose, with 47% of voters annually making between $50,000 and $100,000 opposing the rise of Democratic Socialists and 54% of voters making more than $100,000 per year opposing the trend.

“When you're in the lower income bracket, you have less stuff, so when someone's coming around saying they’ll pay for healthcare [and] pay for these other things, that sounds attractive,” Noble said. “But as you get higher up in the brackets, the less attractive I think that is to them.”

“I think that's kind of the interesting thing about the whole socialism thing,” he added. “Perception-wise, it sounds really good, but it depends on where you're viewing the issue from – where's your point in life? I think that matters a lot.”

The poll’s margin of error is +/- 2.0%.