One in three Democrats consider themselves democratic socialists, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
Individuals identifying as democratic socialists are more likely to be young, White, and to make under $100,000 a year, according to the data released by CNN. The group also reports that they're motivated to vote in November's midterms.
The emerging subset in the Democratic Party has been building momentum with notable wins by Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor, Katie Wilson as Seattle mayor and three New York congressional primary wins by democratic socialists. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is another well-known leader in the movement.
Still, a lot of Americans are confused about what democratic socialism is. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on July 28 reported 47% of Americans don't understand democratic socialists' policies, compared to 49% who do. Twenty-seven percent said democratic socialists have some good ideas, while 51% of respondents said there are few, if any, good ideas.
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President Donald Trump and his GOP allies slam the sect of Democrats as "communists," but academics say the movement is not communism. An expert told USA TODAY that it's more about challenging "the way capitalism distributes things" without the use of force or violence.
The Democratic Socialists of America released their platform "Workers Deserve More," which puts working-class Americans at the forefront. The platform calls for healthcare for all, democracy for all, and to free Palestine, among a slew of other demands. On Israel, 48% of democratic socialists said they'd be enthusiastic about a candidate who wants to cut off US aid to the country, compared to the 20% of non-democratic socialists who said the same. The platform also calls for ending the U.S. "war machine" and abolishing both the United States Senate and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
