A new poll is offering a striking look at Democratic attitudes toward socialism and capitalism as the party faces a potential ideological battle heading toward the 2028 primary season.
According to a CBS News poll released Sunday, Democratic voters hold a dramatically more favorable view of socialism than capitalism, with the divide becoming even more pronounced among Democrats with college degrees.
The survey found that 58 percent of Democrats have a positive view of socialism, while only 18 percent view it negatively.
Capitalism, meanwhile, fares considerably worse among members of the Democratic Party. Just 32 percent of Democrats surveyed said they have a positive opinion of capitalism, while 50 percent said they view the economic system negatively.
The divide is even more dramatic among college-educated Democrats.
According to the poll, 71 percent of Democrats with a college degree have a favorable opinion of socialism. Just 16 percent of Democrats in that demographic view socialism unfavorably.
But while socialism appears to be gaining significant support among Democrats, the CBS News survey indicates those attitudes are not reflected across the broader American electorate.
Among all Americans surveyed, just 35 percent said they have a positive opinion of socialism, while 42 percent said they view it negatively.
Capitalism performs better with Americans overall.
The poll found that 46 percent of respondents have a positive view of capitalism, compared with 33 percent who view it negatively. Those numbers stand in sharp contrast to the results among Democratic respondents, where negative attitudes toward capitalism outweigh positive ones.
The findings come as Democrats face an emerging debate over the ideological direction of the party ahead of the 2028 primaries, with socialists potentially holding significant influence among Democratic voters.
But support for capitalism among Americans overall does not mean voters are satisfied with the current state of the economy under President Donald Trump.
The CBS News poll found widespread dissatisfaction with economic conditions, with 65 percent of Americans describing the current economy as either “fairly bad” or “very bad.”
Only a small percentage of respondents gave the economy the highest marks.
Just 5 percent of Americans surveyed said they believe the economy is currently “very good,” while another 26 percent described it as “pretty good.”
The results present two distinct pictures of the electorate: Democratic voters increasingly favorable toward socialism and skeptical of capitalism, while Americans overall remain more positive about capitalism than socialism.
At the same time, the poll shows broad dissatisfaction with the current economy, with nearly two-thirds of Americans giving economic conditions a negative rating as the political parties look ahead to the battles leading into 2028.
