WASHINGTON — American voters are souring on socialism in the final stretch before the midterm elections, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released this week. For the first time in the last three such surveys, a majority of registered voters — 52 percent — said they hold an unfavorable view of socialism, while just 25 percent view it favorably. That nets out to a -27 point favorability rating, the lowest recorded since August.
The survey of 2,700 registered voters, conducted October 24–26, carries a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points, according to Newsweek's reporting on the poll. The numbers mark a reversal from just a month earlier: in August, 26 percent viewed socialism favorably and 48 percent unfavorably, a -21 net rating. September saw a slight uptick to -19 before October's steep drop.
The shift comes as candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have notched a series of congressional primary victories this year. The organization's growth follows the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor a year ago. In June, all three candidates endorsed by Mamdani defeated establishment Democrats in New York congressional primaries — a result that has rattled party elders and energized the GOP's messaging machine.
President Donald Trump and other top Republicans have spent the election cycle warning that socialists are gaining power inside the Democratic Party and will "tear down the American system," as the Washington Examiner reported. That message appears to be landing.
The poll also lands as Republicans fight to preserve their slim majorities in Congress amid serious political headwinds. But the socialism numbers offer the GOP a clear contrast to run on in the closing days: Democrats, they argue, have been taken over by an ideology that Americans reject.
Newsweek reported that Republicans have continuously attacked the ideology, seeking to cast Democrats as "communists" and extremists ahead of November's midterms. The new data suggests that line of attack is resonating with a significant slice of the electorate.
Separately, a survey of 10,000 swing-state voters by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group, examined views on socialism and affordability — a sign that outside groups on the right are also amplifying the message in battleground states.
For everyday Americans, the poll numbers translate into a simple reality: candidates who embrace socialist policies are entering the final weeks of the campaign with an unpopular label hanging around their necks. In competitive districts, Republicans intend to make sure voters know exactly where Democrats stand.
The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll's October findings are the latest signal that the left's lurch toward socialism may be a liability, not an asset, at the ballot box. With early voting already underway in many states, both parties will be watching whether the trend holds through Election Day.
Our Take
This is the sound of the American people waking up. For years, the radical Left has tried to rebrand socialism as something cuddly — "democratic socialism," they call it — as if putting a friendly face on Venezuela's economic model would make it palatable. The October Harvard CAPS/Harris poll proves that patriotic Americans aren't buying it. A majority now see socialism for what it is: a failed ideology that has starved nations, crushed freedom, and never once delivered on its promises.
The timing is no accident. As DSA-backed candidates rack up primary wins and Mamdani's machine flexes its muscle in New York, voters are getting a close-up look at what the modern Democratic Party has become. And they don't like what they see. President Trump has been warning about this for years — that socialists are gaining power in the Democratic Party and intend to tear down the American system. The poll shows the country heard him.
But polls don't vote — people do. The only way to turn this sentiment into real change is to show up in November and send every socialist sympathizer in Congress packing. The momentum is on our side. Now it's time to finish the job.
