NBC News/ WSJ Poll: Just 19 percent of voters view socialism positively
Despite some well-publicized victories by self-described Democratic socialists in Democratic primary races up and down the ballot this midterm cycle, fewer than one in five Americans have a positive view of socialism, according to a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
The survey, which included 900 registered voters, found that fully half of voters — 52 percent — have a negative view of socialism, compared with just 19 percent who view it positively.
But when asked about their feelings towards capitalism, 52 percent of voters said they felt positively, while just 18 percent said they view it negatively.
Rhetoric about the progressive embrace of Democratic socialism intensified in 2016, when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) competitively challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. Sanders repeatedly referred to himself as a Democratic socialist, describing the movement as one that embraces government that "works for all and not just the few."
That view struck a chord with many of his supporters—and his policy arguments, including slamming the proportion of wealth in the hands of the richest 1 percent of Americans and advocating for a Medicare-for-all program, resonated particularly with younger voters.
This cycle, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of Democratic Socialists of America who has similar policy views to Sanders, defeated an incumbent Republican to win the Democratic nomination in New York’s 14th Congressional District. She's expected to cruise to victory in November in a safe district and join Congress next year.
Still, the share of Democrats with a positive view of socialism remains fairly low, with just a third (33 percent) seeing it favorably. Another 27 percent of Democrats say they have negative views of socialism, while 36 percent remain neutral.
Among Republicans, 83 percent have a negative view of socialism compared with just 6 percent who view it positively.
In contrast, seventy percent of Republican voters and 40 percent of Democratic voters feel positively about capitalism. About one-in-five Democrats (22 percent) view capitalism negatively.
Among Democrats who feel positively about socialism, a plurality — 33 percent — are under 35, compared with just 19 percent who are seniors.
Democrats viewing socialism positively are also overwhelmingly white. More than seven-in-ten (71 percent) are white, compared with just nine percent who are Latino and 15 percent who are black.
In the next six weeks before the 2018 midterm elections, competing economic philosophies will dominate debate landscapes.
The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted September 16-19 of 900 voters. Approximately half of respondents were reached by cell phone. The margin of error for the poll was plus-minus 3.3 percent.