Friday Findings: How Popular is Socialism in America?

And how do voters think Medicare for All would be funded?

Welcome to Friday Findings! Today we are going over our brand new July voter omnibus, out this week. You can read the full topline and crosstabs on our website here. Let’s dig into some of our questions about how voters rank socialism alongside other political forces.

1. What is the most popular political group in America?

We asked voters to give their favorability of individuals and groups in America. When considering the six political groups we asked about, the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement holds the highest net favorability at +6, followed by the still-underwater Democratic party. Further down the list, the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) finds itself at -21 net favorability, with less favorable views than the Republican party but more favor than MAGA.

Notably, the DSA and Free Palestine Movement have wider intra-party splits among older and younger Democrats, although these splits can also be found within Republicans, who view both groups quite unfavorably. The DSA intra-party split among Democrats widens when we look at the concept of socialism itself.

2. The free market economy and capitalism are still popular with American voters

When looking at five political economy terms among voters, we notice Democratic voters under 50 are often out on their own. They are the only cohort by age and party to view capitalism unfavorably. Socialism mirrors the same pattern; older Democrats are split on the term, but younger Democrats are very much in favor. It is also worth noting that social democracy and socialism elicit less steadfast unfavorable views among younger Republicans compared to their older fellow partisans. Still, the most dramatic splits on communism and capitalism have to do with younger Democrats.

3. The most popular DSA policies are policies you’ve heard of before

Okay, now let’s zoom out from all this generational party analysis. Which left-wing policies do American voters say actually make them more likely to support a candidate? At the very top is increasing taxes on high earners, free public childcare, and Medicare for all. Right down the middle is a more prominent topic in the Democratic primaries: Ending U.S. support for Israel to free Palestine. This one splits evenly for voters. Down at the bottom are the most unpopular left-wing policies; abolishing police and allowing non-citizen voters push most American voters away from a hypothetical candidate.

4. What do fans of Medicare For All think they are getting?

Medicare for All has been cited by some Democratic candidates for at least a decade now, and a majority of voters say it would make them more likely to support a candidate. We asked these specific voters to rate three statements on paying for Medicare for All. By strong majorities, Medicare for All voters told us that statements about paying for the program via billionaire taxes or only high income taxes (defined here as individual income over $400,000 a year) are true. Both narrow sources of revenue appear to be a plausible pay-for to such voters.

However, when presented with a statement that it will require tax hikes on most taxpayers, Medicare for All voters split evenly on if this is true or false, with about one in six saying they are unsure. That’s a wrap for this week’s findings. Stay tuned for an interactive omnibus trend tracker next week. You won’t want to miss it!