Democratic socialism is poorly understood as Michigan contest looms, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

WASHINGTON, July 28 - American leftists aligned with the democratic socialist movement have been defeating moderate Democrats in primary elections this year but large swaths of the country still don't know what the movement stands for, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who says he is a progressive candidate and not a socialist, will face moderate Democrat Haley Stevens next Tuesday in a party nomination contest. El-Sayed has been endorsed by democratic socialists like U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

The winner of that contest will face former Republican Representative Mike Rogers in November, in one of the races expected to play a critical role in determining which party controls the Senate for the last two years of President Donald Trump's term.

The three-day Reuters/Ipsos poll, which concluded on Sunday, found that 49% of Americans say they understand democratic socialist policies while 47% say they do not, underscoring the challenges ahead for America's insurgent left.

Asked if democratic socialists have good ideas or not, some 27% of respondents said they have at least some while 51% said there were few, if any, and 20% said they weren't sure.

People have a similar assessment of the ideas of MAGA Republicans, Trump's "Make America Great Again" political base. Some 27% of poll respondents said MAGA Republicans have at least some good ideas, while 57% saw few or no good ideas from MAGA and 13% weren't sure.

El-Sayed advocates progressive policies including Medicare for All, a government-run universal health insurance system that would replace most private insurance. Stevens, his opponent in Tuesday's primary who has been endorsed by moderate U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, instead supports expanded insurance subsidies, while preserving private insurance.

El-Sayed has also been endorsed by U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who, like Sanders, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, a left-wing organization founded through the merger of two groups in 1982. Ocasio-Cortez, who some view as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, won an upset Democratic primary in 2018 for a New York-based House of Representatives seat.

DSA-backed candidates have won Democratic House primaries this year in New York City and Colorado, while DSA member Nithya Raman emerged as one of two finalists in the race for Los Angeles mayor. Other prominent DSA members include New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was elected in 2025.

Trump has seized on the movement's rise to try to falsely paint all Democrats - including those unaffiliated with the democratic socialist movement - as "hardcore, godless communists." Democratic socialists advocate pursuing progressive policies through elections. In contrast, communism seeks to abolish private ownership of property and create a classless society - ideas that the democratic socialists seeking election reject.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,248 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. REUTERS