Democratic Socialism 2028? Most Young Voters Say ‘Yes’

A majority of voters under 40 want a democratic socialist to win the White House in the next presidential election.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and the Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center of the Heartland Institute finds that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters ages 18 to 39 would like to see a democratic socialist candidate win the 2028 presidential election. Thirty-six percent (36%) don’t want a democratic socialist to win in 2028, while 17% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Parents (27%), online videos or podcasts (17%), and books (10%) were the most influential sources cited by under-40 voters in their support of democratic socialism. A majority (54%) said their parents or guardians were favorable toward democratic socialism to the best of their recollection when they were growing up. 

 “It is hard to believe that a solid majority of young Americans think democratic socialism is the answer to the deep-rooted economic problems they face given that socialism has utterly failed to uplift the downtrodden every time and place it has been implemented,” said Heartland Institute research fellow Chris Talgo. “However, when they grow up in an environment surrounded by adults who champion democratic socialism, it starts to make sense.”

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The survey of 1,496 U.S. Likely Voters ages 18-39 was conducted on October 31-November 2, 2025 by Rasmussen Reports and the Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center of the Heartland Institute. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of under-40 voters say that, when they were attending school most of their teachers and professors were favorable toward democratic socialism, including 22% who say their teachers were Very Favorable toward it. Only 26% recall an unfavorable attitude toward democratic socialism from their teachers and professors.

While 28% say they don’t attend church, among those who do attend, more said their church portrays democratic socialism favorably (33%) versus 28% who said their church portrays it unfavorably.

Among other findings of the Rasmussen Reports/Heartland Institute survey of under-40 Likely Voters:

– Among the youngest cohort (ages 18-24) of voters, 57% want a democratic socialist to win the next presidential election, compared to 46% of those ages 35-39.

– More women voters (54%) than men (48%) want to see a democratic socialist elected president in 2028.

– Forty-two percent (42%) of whites, 75% of black voters, 69% of Hispanics and 66% of other minority voters under 40 say their parents or guardians were favorable toward democratic socialism when they were growing up. White voters under 40 are least likely to want to see a democratic socialist candidate win the White House in 2028.

– Among those who voted for Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election, 78% would like to see a democratic socialist candidate win the 2028 presidential election, while a majority (58%) of those who voted for Donald Trump would not want a democratic socialist to win in 2028.

Of the support for democratic socialism among younger voters, the Heartland Institute’s Talgo said, “The rise of social media and soundbite news has only made the situation worse because these superficial sources perpetuate the myth that democratic socialism is vogue, feasible, and morally righteous.”

The election of “democratic socialist” Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City has got America’s under-40 voters excited, and a majority of them want to enact his agenda nationwide. 

Two-thirds of voters approve of the deal to end the government shutdown, and nearly half see Republicans as the political beneficiary.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public as well as to Platinum Members.

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