Poll claims nearly half of LA voters want democratic socialist mayor

Almost half of Los Angeles prefers a democratic socialist to lead the nation’s second largest city, according to a bombshell poll dropped Monday.

The poll, conducted by Loyola Marymount University from February 11 to March 16, also puts incumbent Karen Bass second in the upcoming mayoral race at 17% of the vote, after progressive councilmember Nithya Raman, a member of the hard-left Democratic Socialists of America, listed at 32.5%.

About 47.7% of voters wanted a socialist in charge ahead of other listed types of candidates, such as a “moderate, business-oriented Democrat” and “conservative political outsider,” according to the poll.

The reaction from pundits and others: surprise and skepticism.

“Holy Zohran Mandami,” exclaimed Mike Madrid, an anti-Trump Republican strategist who co-founded the Lincoln Project.

Fernando Guerra, director of LMU’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles, told KPCC that the poll took an unusually different tactic in asking voters questions.

“Most polls, they just give the name,” Guerra said. “We kind of educated the voter before we asked, ‘Who would you support?’”

“All we’re trying to do is simulate what would happen with a little bit of education about these candidates,” he added.

Such a tactic showcasing an “informed ballot” is not uncommon, Madrid told the Post, but it’s usually done by campaigns trying to test messaging and viability. It’s odd for a poll meant for public consumption to do that, he said.

Others also suspiciously eyed the poll’s accuracy. Paul Mitchell, from the voting data firm Political Data Inc, noted the sample size of 370 voters is small, and that the descriptions of the mayoral candidates provided to poll takers were “creative.”

Even the question asking about having a democratic socialist mayor is shaky, Morris Levy, a USC political science professor, told the Post. Labels such as “Democratic Socialist” are still likely unfamiliar to many voters, he said, while wordings of the alternatives, such as “establishment,” lessen their appeal.

While many are skeptical of the suggestion that nearly half of Los Angeles wants a socialist, there’s a kernel of truth: it’s no question that the city has moved to the left over the past decades.

“These poll results, along with the competitiveness of Democratic Socialist candidates in this race and others, point to a real shift in the party’s base,” Levy told the Post. “Polls show that ‘socialism’ has not only lost its stigma but in fact has a positive valence among many Democratic voters.”

Pundits note a trend may emerge given New York City elected a socialist democratic mayor in Mamdani — and the next largest city could follow suit with Raman.

Madrid noted that it’s a 180-degree shift from when he worked his first campaigns in 1993, when both Los Angeles and New York City elected Republican mayors, as voters then shifted toward the political center.

“Now what you’re seeing in cities is a push away from that. You’re seeing going towards a more extreme leftward position, and there are DSA candidates on these councils and in Los Angeles,” Madrid told the Post. “That was not the case.”

Despite the poll’s shakiness, one definite conclusion from the poll is that voters are seeking change and are discontent with the incumbent Bass, Madrid said. Other mayoral polls have shown Bass in the lead but with other candidates gaining ground.

“Is this a valid survey? That’s really debatable, but you can look at this and say the main takeaway from here is this city is completely unhappy with all of their choices,” he said.

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