WASHINGTON — Democrats now overwhelmingly have a more favorable view of socialism than capitalism, according to a shocking new poll.
Nearly 60% of party members support socialism compared to 18% who view it negatively, while just 32% have a favorable view of capitalism compared to 50% who see it as negative, according to the CBS News/YouGov survey.
The poor marks for capitalism among Democrats get even worse when narrowed down to those who have a college degree, with 71% of that group favoring socialism compared to 16% viewing it unfavorably, the poll showed.
The disturbing findings come as Democrats are engaged in a so-called “battle for the soul” of their party.
Democratic Socialists of America-backed and allied candidates have had a series of breakthrough victories in Democratic primaries across the country throughout the 2026 election cycle.
Most of those wins have occurred in blue strongholds, but top DSA figures have made it clear they want to take over the Democratic Party and shift it dramatically leftward.
Still, the poll found that the general public is still not fully convinced that socialism is superior to capitalism.
Among the general public, capitalism is viewed as 46% positive to 35% negative, while socialism is considered 35% positive and 42% negative.
When asked to describe the free market, an overwhelming 66% of respondents said it was good for the US economy, compared to 34% who called it bad.
Yet on a policy level, there are signs that even Republicans are supportive of certain policies historically associated with socialism, such as price controls.
Economists generally oppose price controls, arguing they can disrupt supply and demand, which can lead to consequences such as shortages of certain goods or services.
But in the poll, the notion won the approval of 75% of Democrats, 62% of Independents and 54% of Republicans.
Given the rise of the far-left in the country’s recent primary races, President Trump has worked to paint lefties as full-blown communists and urged Republicans to spotlight their hardcore progressive policies heading into the midterm elections.
“Our American identity under a renewed attack,” Trump warned on the eve of Independence Day last month.
“A generation after we fought and won the Cold War against the menace of communism, there is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success,” the president said.
Historically, the party in control of the White House has lost seats in the midterm elections in all but two cycles since 1938.
The recent midterms have been widely seen as a key test of whether far-left candidates are electable in a general election.
