Opinion polls show that understanding of the Democratic Socialists is mixed, with 49% of Americans saying they understand their policies.
Published July 28, 2026
In the United States, left-wing candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) movement defeated centrist Democrats in this year’s primaries. But the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that most people in the country still don’t know what the movement means.
DSA is an activist organization whose mission is to help workers gain power through democratic means, and whose members include prominent politicians such as New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani and New York State Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Other Democratic DSA members have also won recent political elections across the country.
A three-day Reuters/Ipsos poll that ended on Sunday found that 49% of Americans said they understood democratic socialist policies and 47% said they did not, highlighting the challenges ahead for America’s dissident left.
When asked whether democratic socialists have good ideas, about 27% of respondents said they had at least some, 51% said few if any, and 20% said they didn’t know.
People have a similar appreciation for the idea of MAGA Republicans, President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” political base. About 27% of poll respondents said MAGA Republicans have at least some good ideas, but 57% thought there were few or no good ideas from MAGA, and 13% were unsure.
Mamdani, a prominent DSA member elected in 2025, endorsed other New York City DSA members who won their respective primaries in June. Other wins by DSA members include races in Colorado and California.
President Trump is attempting to capitalize on the rise of this movement to falsely paint all Democrats, including those not affiliated with the democratic socialist movement, as “hard-core godless communists.” The administration released a 100-page report earlier this month linking left-wing U.S. advocacy groups to Cuba, often relying on circumstantial and ideological ties rather than direct connections.
Democratic socialists advocate pursuing progressive policies through elections. In contrast, communism aims to abolish private ownership of property and create a classless society, an idea rejected by democratic socialists who seek elections.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online among 1,248 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
