On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, the campaign of New York Democratic Congressional candidate Ilapa Sailitupak, from left, New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, and former New York City auditor and New York Democratic House candidate Brad Lander, during the primary election in New York, USA.
Adam Gray | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A CNBC National Economic Survey released Friday found that more voters are more likely to support Democratic Socialist candidates than those who support “Make America Great Again” or President Donald Trump.
The findings come as Democratic Socialist candidates win Democratic primaries across the country, following the election of New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani in November. The change has become a lightning rod for Republicans, who have aggressively branded Democrats as communists.
The results give Democrats an advantage heading into November’s midterm elections, which are widely seen as a referendum on Mr. Trump, even though many self-proclaimed democratic socialists are on the ballot. It also suggests voters like the idea of a stronger federal government that provides more services in exchange for higher taxes.
The poll found that 32% of registered voters were more likely to vote for a candidate who described themselves as a democratic socialist, while 50% were less likely to vote for such a candidate. Twenty-nine percent of voters said they were more likely to vote for a candidate with Trump’s support, while 52% said they were less likely to do so. The situation is even worse for candidates who identify as supporters of the MAGA movement, with only 27% of voters saying doing so would make them more likely to vote for them, and 57% saying it would make them less likely to vote.
The CNBC national poll was conducted July 8-12 among 1,000 registered U.S. voters by Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies. The error is +/-3.1%.
Many Democratic Socialists on the ballot this year want to raise taxes on America’s wealthiest people to fund universal health care, a higher minimum wage, and a universal basic income.
Given that Republicans will control the White House until 2028, elections in both parties are unlikely to prompt immediate policy changes. But it would mean even more adversarial relations between Congress and the executive branch, potentially delaying legislation favored by the Trump administration, while also providing hints about how Democrats might govern if they retake the White House in 2028.
Democrats also held a 4-point lead in the popular vote, with 49% of voters saying they wanted a Democratic-led Congress and 45% saying they preferred Republican-led Congress.
According to the survey, the president’s approval rating was 40% and his disapproval rating was 59%, a one-point decline from the April survey. 60% of respondents disapproved of his handling of the economy, compared to 38% who approved, a worse result than in April. Both changes are within the poll’s margin of error, but are consistent with other recent polls on the president’s status.
Polls show that capitalism remains more popular than socialism in the United States, but public sentiment has declined in recent years due to the rise of socialism.
28% of registered voters surveyed had a positive view of socialism, up from 18% in 2024. 50% of registered voters view capitalism positively, little changed from 51% in 2024. A poll released Friday found that 48% of voters view socialism unfavorably, while 27% view capitalism unfavorably.
Voters aged 18 to 34 supported socialism by an 18 percentage point margin, while older voters favored capitalism. If that happens, the shape of electoral districts may change in the future. Alternatively, today’s young voters may see their preferences evolve as they get older.
“If these current attitudes persist over time, and today’s 18- to 49-year-olds maintain those attitudes, we’re going to see a seismic shift in terms of national dialogue and economic policy prescriptions that will come out of Congress and a variety of other venues over time,” said Micah Roberts, a partner at Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, which conducted the poll. “The attitudes of today’s 18- to 34-year-olds will be the reality of our country 20 years from now.”
Voters surveyed did not think some form of socialism was a good idea for the country, but by a narrow margin. Forty-four percent of voters polled said some form of socialism was a bad thing, while 40% said it was a good thing, halving the difference compared to the previous poll. A 2019 Gallup poll found that 43% of adults view socialism as a good thing, while 51% view it as a bad thing.
And in one of the first polls, in 1942, as the world was embroiled in World War II, 25% of voters thought socialism was a good idea. 40% thought it was a bad idea and 34% were undecided.
