Democratic voters overwhelmingly want a leader who will fight the superrich and corporate America, and they believe Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the person to do it, according to a poll released this week.
While Democrats are often portrayed as squabbling and directionless, the poll conducted last month by the New Republic with Embold Research demonstrated a remarkable unity among the more than 2,400 Democratic voters it surveyed.
This was true with respect to policy: More than 9 in 10 want to raise taxes on corporations and on the wealthiest Americans, while more than three-quarters want to break up tech monopolies and believe the government should conduct stronger oversight of business.
But it was also reflected in sentiments that a more confrontational governing philosophy should prevail and general agreement that the party in its current form is not doing enough to take on its enemies.
Three-quarters said they wanted Democrats to "be more aggressive in calling out Republicans," while nearly 7 in 10 said it was appropriate to describe their party as "weak."
This appears to have translated to support for a more muscular view of government. Where the label once helped to sink Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) two runs for president, nearly three-quarters of Democrats now say they are either unconcerned with the label of "socialist" or view it as an asset.
Meanwhile, 46% said they want to see a "progressive" at the top of the Democratic ticket in 2028, higher than the number who said they wanted a "liberal" or a "moderate."
It's an environment that appears to be fertile ground for Ocasio-Cortez, who pitched her vision for a "working-class-centered politics" at this week's Munich summit in what many suspected was a soft-launch of her presidential candidacy in 2028.
With 85% favorability, Bronx congresswoman had the highest approval rating of any Democratic figure in the country among the voters surveyed.
It's a higher mark than either of the figures who head-to-head polls have shown to be presumptive favorites for the nomination: Former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Early polls show AOC lagging considerably behind these top two. However, there are signs in the New Republic's poll that may give her supporters cause for hope.
While Harris is also well-liked, 66% of Democrats surveyed said they believe she's "had her shot" at the presidency and should not run again after losing to President Donald Trump in 2024.
Newsom does not have a similar electoral history holding him back and is riding high from the passage of Proposition 50, which will allow Democrats to add potentially five more US House seats this November.
But his policy approach may prove an ill fit at a time when Democrats overwhelmingly say their party is "too timid" about taxing the rich and corporations and taking on tech oligarchs.
As labor unions in California have pushed for a popular proposal to introduce a billionaire's tax, Newsom has made himself the chiseled face of the resistance to this idea, joining with right-wing Silicon Valley barons in an aggressive campaign to kill it.
While polls can tell us little two years out about what voters will do in 2028, New Republic editorial director Emily Cooke said her magazine's survey shows an unmistakable pattern.
"It’s impossible to come away from these results without concluding that economic populism is a winning message for loyal Democrats," she wrote. "This was true across those who identify as liberals, moderates, or progressives: An unmistakable majority wants a party that will fight harder against the corporations and rich people they see as responsible for keeping them down."
From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
Lol so when leftists say “Newsom is shit” what do you think our goal with that is, exactly? It’s to encourage people to vote against him in the primaries, quite obviously. But the super delegate system and the ratfucking tricks they use heavily stack the presidential candidate primaries against leftists. It’s important to also point this out, because just ignoring a problem means it will never change.
To discourage people from voting for him. Nothing in my reply should have been interpreted as suggesting you don't speak your mind on the matter.
It's not obvious that you're advocating for people to vote in primaries. You're using various talking points that are typically associated with not voting in the primaries as protest against the party. That's why I replied to bring up the primaries explicitly.
This is language I mostly see associated with "the primaries are rigged/my vote won't matter" type of stance from people who do not vote in the Democratic primaries. In case you're not already aware, though, they changed the convention rules starting with the 2018 convention so that super delegates don't even get a vote unless the pledged delegates can't elect a nominee. Also the new DNC chair (elected after the 2024 loss) is the former Minnesota party chair with (as far as I've been made aware) a track record of both not meddling in primaries and supporting progressive nominees.
These sorts of comments are typically about the general election, not the primaries. They don't make any sense if they're said about the primaries. But in context of the general election they're unfortunately correct. If you don't vote in the general against the major party nominee who is least aligned with you then you are making easier for them to win by reducing the threshold of votes they need to receive. One of the two major party nominees will win the election whether you participate in it or not (for the vast majority of races, but extremely so for the president). That doesn't mean I want you to sit down and shut up about a nominees shortcomings (I'm sure some people do mean that, but I don't). Absolutely speak up. But clearly the party has been shifting to the right when the right wins the general, so the focus for protest voting has to be through the primaries only.