3 in 4 Democrats would support a socialist for president: poll

close

Video

The estimated cost of Bernie Sanders' proposals is 'terrifying': Marc Thiessen

Marc Thiessen, American Enterprise Institute, reveals the number calculated by The Manhattan Institute as the cost for Bernie Sanders' spending plans

As the Democratic Party primary field lurches to the left on a number of policy issues, it is being reflected among Democratic voters -- with three in four Democrats saying they would back a socialist for president, according to a new poll released this month.

The Gallup poll found that 76 percent of Democratic voters would vote for a socialist. Only 17 percent of Republicans say they would vote for a socialist, and 45 percent of independents would vote for one.

BERNIE SANDERS' CAMPAIGN WALKS BACK VOW OF TOTAL DEPORTATION FREEZE

The poll comes amid the rise of self-described “democratic socialist” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the Democratic presidential primary race. The far-left candidate tied with the more moderate former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg in Iowa, and won the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucuses -- boosting him into front-runner status.

Sanders has promoted once-fringe policies such as a Green New Deal, a moratorium on the deportation of illegal immigrants, free college tuition and a “Medicare-for-all” plan that would abolish private health insurance.

Other ideas such as reparations for slavery and welfare for illegal immigrants have also become popular among Democratic politicians, particularly in the Democrat-controlled House -- where liberal "Squad" members such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., have been promoting policies once far out of the Democratic mainstream.

BERNIE SANDERS' SURROGATE CLAIMS MEDIA LIES ABOUT SUPPORT FOR SOCIALISM: 'OUR IDEAS ARE POPULAR'

Voters were polled by Gallup about the characteristics of potential presidents they would vote for -- and it found broad acceptance of most of those traits. Of those polled, 96 percent would vote for a black candidate, 93 percent would vote for a woman, 78 percent would vote for a gay/lesbian candidate, and 66 percent would vote for a Muslim.

Video

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Out of all those characteristics polled, a socialist candidate was the only one that received majority opposition overall -- even considering Democrat’s relative enthusiasm.

Less than half of Americans overall, 45 percent, said they would back a socialist for president, while 53 percent said they would not -- suggesting the left-wing shift by the Democratic Party might not be reflected in the electorate as a whole.