Democrats view socialism more favorably than capitalism, Gallup says

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stands by ‘democratic socialism’

New York Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared on ‘The Daily Show’ with Trevor Noah and stood by her polarizing label of ‘democratic socialist.’

Democrats are giving up on capitalism.

According to a Gallup poll released Monday, more Democrats view socialism positively than they do capitalism – a development that comes amid the popularity of Democratic socialist candidates in the midterm elections.

Fifty-seven percent of Democrats polled by Gallup have a favorable view of socialism, while just 47 percent of Democrats in the poll have positive feelings about capitalism.

It wasn’t long ago – in 2012, according to the poll -- that Democrats viewed capitalism more favorably than socialism. But the positive feelings toward capitalism have dramatically dropped nine points since 2016, when 56 percent of Democrats said they liked capitalism.

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Some liberals celebrated the poll numbers.

“A funny thing happens when you demonize universal health care, nutritional aid, and unemployment benefits as ‘socialism’: lots of people decide socialism is OK,” New York Times op-ed writer Paul Krugman tweeted.

Meanwhile, conservatives drew attention to the poll, with the Republican campaign group America Rising taking aim at Democrats, saying it shows “just how far to the left the party is being pulled.” Other conservatives on Twitter cited the poll and pointed to the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, a socialist country.

Republicans still overwhelmingly prefer capitalism, with 71 percent saying in the poll they have a positive view of it and just 16 percent saying they see capitalism favorably.

The poll numbers follow the popularity in the Democratic Party of far-left figures like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ran for president in 2016, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who defeated an incumbent this summer in a Democratic primary for a congressional seat.

Still, some Democrats have struggled trying to balance attracting support from the far-left, while still appealing to mainstream voters.

Last week, Maryland Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous, endorsed by Sanders, cursed at a reporter on Wednesday for asking if he's a socialist.

DEM CANDIDATE BEN JEALOUS SNAPS AT REPORTER FOR SOCIALISM QUESTION

“Are you f---ing kidding me?" replied Jealous, the former leader of the NAACP.

Jealous is challenging Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, whose campaign has painted the Democrat as a far-left candidate. He later apologized for the outburst.