Almost Half Of U.S. Young Adults Have Positive Views Of Democratic Socialists, Poll Shows

A new survey is showing that the leftist movement has strong support among young voters.

A CNBC poll of 18- to 34-year-olds found that 46 percent had a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of democratic socialists. Only 23 percent held a very unfavorable or somewhat unfavorable view of the movement.

Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, narrowly lost the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor to David Crowley, a Milwaukee County executive who was generally viewed as the more establishment-favored candidate in the race.

"We built something that will change politics forever," Hong told supporters late Tuesday, ahead of Crowley's victory. "The work we've done will be remembered."

However, in Michigan, democratic socialist candidate Abdul El-Sayed won his primary for Senate against Michigan congressional representative Haley Stevens. El-Sayed studied to be a doctor but went to work for government health agencies in Michigan, including serving as Wayne County's Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services Director until 2025.

Whether El-Sayed can translate his success in the primary to the general election remains to be seen. Both El-Sayed and Hong deleted old social media posts when they began campaigning that might end up being political liabilities.

Hong, for example, had a post on X in 2020 that the U.S. should cancel Thanksgiving because the holiday was "celebrating colonialism," USA Today reported.

Since winning his primary, El-Sayed also has been responding to questions regarding old social media posts. In a since-deleted video from 2024, El-Sayed said that fireworks shouldn't be part of the 4th of July and explained "why fireworks suck," CNN reported. The network reported that other deleted posts supported defunding the police.

In one clip that's still active, El-Sayed wondered whether football could be "ethical" and "safe." He also said that football operates in a vein that is similar to "sharecropping," The Hill reported.

El-Sayed's campaign has said that his positions have evolved and that's why the old posts were deleted. They also have said that political opponents have cherry-picked old posts and taken them out of context, The New York Times reported.

In general, the democratic socialists' candidates have focused on economic issues and inequality. For example, one of El-Sayed's primary issues is passing Medicare for All. "He is fighting for an economy and healthcare system that work for everyone, affordable housing for all, and clean air and water," his campaign website states.

The CNBC poll surveyed 1,088 people earlier this month and had a margin of error of 2.97 percent.

The poll found a general skepticism among young adults over the current state of the economy, with 45 percent saying that the economy was "bad" and 27 percent saying that it was "really bad."