Democratic socialists top MAGA candidates among voters in CNBC’s All-America poll

More voters would be more likely to support a democratic socialist candidate than a Make America Great Again supporter or a candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump, the CNBC All-America Economic Survey released Friday found.

The survey’s findings come as democratic socialist candidates win Democratic primaries across the country following the November election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The shift has become a lightning rod for Republicans, who are aggressively branding Democrats as communists.

The results indicate that even with a number of self-described democratic socialists on the ballot, Democrats will have the upper hand heading into November’s midterm election, which is widely viewed as a referendum on Trump. It also suggests voters are warming to the idea of a more muscular federal government that provides additional services in exchange for higher taxes.

The poll found that 32% of registered voters would be more likely to vote for a candidate if they describe themselves as a democratic socialist, while 50% would be less likely to vote for such a candidate. Twenty-nine percent of voters would be more likely to vote for a candidate with Trump’s endorsement, while 52% would be less likely. A candidate who describes themself as a supporter of the MAGA movement does even worse, with only 27% of voters saying that would make them more likely to vote for them and 57% saying it would make their vote less likely.

CNBC’s All America poll was conducted on July 8-12 with 1,000 registered voters in the U.S., in conjunction with Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies. It has a margin of error of +/-3.1%.

Many of the democratic socialists set to be on the ballot this year are calling for increased taxes on the wealthiest in America to fund universal healthcare, a higher minimum wage and universal basic income.

Their elections would be unlikely to spur an immediate change in policy, given Republicans’ control of the White House through 2028. But it would mean a more adversarial relationship between Congress and the executive branch that could stall legislation the Trump administration favors, while offering a window into how Democrats would govern if they retake the White House in 2028.

Democrats also notch a 4 percentage-point lead in the generic ballot, with 49% of voters saying they would prefer a Democrat-controlled Congress and 45% preferring Republican control.

The survey found the president’s approval rating at 40%, with 59% disapproving, 1 one point worse than the April survey. Sixty percent disapprove of his handling of the economy, also a point worse than April, compared with 38% approving. Both changes are within the poll’s margin of error, but are consistent with other recent polls on the president’s standing.

Capitalism remains more popular than socialism in the U.S., the poll found, but has declined in public sentiment in recent years as socialism has gained.

Twenty-eight percent of registered voters polled viewed socialism positively, a leap up from 18% in 2024. Fifty percent of registered voters viewed capitalism positively, little changed from 51% in 2024. Forty-eight percent of voters viewed socialism negatively, while 27% viewed capitalism negatively in the poll released Friday.

Voters aged 18-34 preferred socialism by a margin of 18% points, while older age demographics preferred capitalism. That could reshape the electorate in the future. Or today’s younger voters could evolve their preferences as they age.

“If these current attitudes were to persist over time, and the 18-49 year-olds of today were going to keep those types of attitudes, we’re going to have a seismic shift in terms of the national conversation and economic policy prescriptions that we see coming out of Congress and different places over time,” said Micah Roberts, a partner at Public Opinion Strategies, the Republican pollster for the survey. “The attitudes of 18-34 year-olds today are the reality of our country in 20 years.”

Voters polled did not believe some form of socialism would be a good idea for the country, but by an extremely narrow margin. Forty-four percent of voters polled said some form of socialism would be a bad thing, while 40% said it would be a good thing — winnowing the gap by half from the last time it was polled. In a 2019 Gallup poll, 43% of adults viewed socialism as a good thing and 51% viewed it as a bad thing.

And in 1942, one of the first times the question was polled and as the world was embroiled in World War II, 25% of voters thought socialism was a good idea. Forty percent thought it was a bad idea, and 34% were undecided.