Nearly half of adults aged 18-34 favor democratic socialism, poll shows

A new one outlet/Generation Lab poll targeting 18-34-year-olds revealed that 46% of respondents hold a favorable view of democratic socialism, compared with only 23% who view it unfavorably. The same cohort overwhelmingly judges the U.S. economy as bad, very bad, or could not be worse, with 78% sharing that assessment and half believing conditions will deteriorate further. These attitudes appear linked to dissatisfaction with capitalism and are reflected in recent electoral contests, such as state Rep. Francesca Hong's narrow loss to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary.

Earlier surveys also indicated that democratic socialism is more appealing to voters than the MAGA label associated with Donald Trump. Additional polling shows a broad desire among swing voters for bold, systemic change rather than incremental reforms.