As the American left is facing a major test at the ballot box, a new poll shows Americans may be souring on socialism ahead of the midterm elections. The October Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll found 52 percent of registered voters have an unfavorable view of socialism, the first time that a majority has reported having a negative view in the last three such polls. The poll found just 25 percent viewed socialism favorably, giving it a net favorability rating of -27 points.
The survey was conducted among 2,700 registered voters from October 24 to 26 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points. The rating is the lowest recorded since August, and marks a reversal from the modest uptick in favorability that was recorded just a month earlier. The same poll in August had found that 26 percent had a favorable view of socialism while 48 percent had an unfavorable view, a net favorability rating of -21 points when rounding to the nearest whole percentage.
The September poll saw a slight improvement in Americans’ view of socialism, with 29 percent saying they had a favorable view and 47 percent saying they had an unfavorable view, a net favorability rating of -19 points. It comes as candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA, are running for Congress after notching a series of victories in congressional primaries this year. This follows the rise of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who was elected New York City’s mayor a year ago, and has spurred the organization’s growth.
Mamdani’s influence was clear when all three of his endorsed candidates defeated establishment Democrats in congressional primaries in New York in June. As more Americans began to have a a positive view of socialism, Republicans have continuously attacked the ideology, seeking to cast Democrats as "communists" and extremists ahead of November’s midterm elections. Republicans are facing serious political headwinds as they fight to preserve their slim majorities in Congress, amid President Donald Trump’s falling approval ratings caused by voter concerns about high prices and the Iran war.
At the Republican Party's midterm convention in Dallas in September, Trump repeatedly claimed that Democrats were running as communists in the midterms, despite no credible midterm candidate identifying as such. The Democratic Party had been overthrown by "crazed lunatics and radicals," he said. "It's going to be a communist country if they win." Other speakers at the convention used similar language, with House Speaker Mike Johnson warning that "the communists will be in Congress." Experts told Newsweek that the drop in favorability measured by the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll was unsurprising given Republicans’ ongoing attacks.
"The label is getting hammered by Republican messaging, so I imagine that's having an effect," Grant Davis Reeher, a professor of political science at Syracuse University, told Newsweek. "And there may be some association now for some voters between socialism and communism, given that messaging." Costas Panagopoulos, a professor of political science at Northeastern University, said the deterioration may demonstrate that GOP attacks are having an effect. "These shifts likely reflect the impact of the intensive offensive against democratic socialism by Trump and Republican candidates on the campaign trail and in ads in recent weeks," Panagopoulos told Newsweek.
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