A new national survey of Democratic voters suggests that, despite months of commentary portraying the party as fractured and politically adrift, its base is remarkably unified around a central demand: fight harder, especially against concentrated wealth and corporate power.
The poll, conducted January 7 to 16 by Embold Research for The New Republic, surveyed 2,421 Democratic voters nationwide. According to the published methodology, respondents were recruited through targeted advertisements on Facebook and Instagram and across the web via Facebook’s ad platform, through text messages to voter file cell phone numbers, and through an online panel marketplace. Post-stratification weighting was performed on age, gender, education, census region, and race or ethnicity. The modeled margins of error for the two question series were 2.8% and 2.9%, adjusted for the design effect of weighting. The methodology also notes that public opinion research entails some additional unmeasured error.
The findings come at a moment when President Donald Trump’s approval has been described as “hovering in a deep unlit trough around 40 percent.” Yet even with Trump’s weak approval ratings, the Democratic Party’s public image has faced criticism across the political spectrum. The American Prospect called the Democratic brand “damaged.” NBC said it was “weak.” Rolling Stone said it was “cooked.” Semafor announced that “left-wing ideas” had “wrecked” it, and Bill Maher compared Democrats to companies like Sears or Kodak that had “screwed themselves out of relevance.” Arizona Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego has referenced a “national brand problem,” and Colorado Senator Michael Bennet has said the branding is “problematic.”
Against that backdrop, The New Republic’s survey sought to determine what Democratic voters actually want from their party. One of the clearest conclusions was summarized this way: “Democrats overwhelmingly want their elected leaders to fight, and they know who they want their leaders to fight against: the superrich and corporate America.”
The numbers underlying that conclusion are striking. Ninety three percent of respondents said it was important to raise taxes on the rich, and 91 percent said it was important to raise taxes on corporations. Seventy seven percent said it was important to regulate or break up big tech companies. Eighty two percent said Democrats are too timid about taxing the rich and making corporations pay their fair share of taxes. Eighty percent said the party is too timid about cracking down on corporations that break the law, and 79 percent said it is too timid about regulating big tech.
Embold Research’s Andrea Everett said she was particularly struck by the “strength of sentiment favoring regulation.” She described that emphasis as “very consistent across the board,” and said the responses suggest Democrats are “skeptical of business doing the right thing on its own.”
The survey also captured a widespread belief that the economic system itself is tilted against ordinary people. Seventy one percent of respondents said the system is “rigged” against people like them. When asked who is most to blame for rigging the economy, 64 percent pointed to corporations and the wealthy combined.
On strategy and tone, voters expressed a clear preference for confrontation rather than compromise. Seventy five percent said Democrats should “be more aggressive in calling out Republicans,” while 25 percent said they should “focus more on working with Republicans.” Sixty two percent said the party should focus more on calling out “corporate wrongdoing,” compared with 38 percent who said Democrats should focus more on supporting businesses and economic growth.
Despite this appetite for a tougher approach, many respondents appear dissatisfied with how party leaders are performing. Sixty nine percent said it would be somewhat to extremely appropriate to describe Democrats as “weak.”
At the same time, the poll suggests that Democratic voters maintain strong faith in the role of government. Nine of 10 respondents said they believe government can make people’s lives better. Eighty one percent said society mostly moves forward through “government programs and solutions like Social Security and civil rights laws” rather than through the free market meeting people’s needs and desires. Labor unions were viewed favorably by 87 percent of respondents. Yet only 7 percent said they feel good about how democracy functions today.
The policy priorities identified in the survey extend beyond taxation and corporate oversight. Ninety three percent said lowering prescription drug prices is extremely or very important. Eighty nine percent said building affordable housing is extremely or very important. Eighty five percent said raising the minimum wage is extremely or very important. Eighty four percent cited addressing teen and young adult mental health. Seventy one percent said regulating the cryptocurrency industry is extremely or very important.
On civil rights and democracy, 97 percent said protecting voting rights is extremely or very important, and 96 percent said protecting equal rights for all races and genders is extremely or very important. Ninety three percent said protecting the rights of protesters is extremely or very important. Ninety two percent said defending birthright citizenship is extremely or very important, and 91 percent said protecting the due process rights of undocumented immigrants is extremely or very important.
The survey also explored attitudes toward ideology and labels that have shaped past Democratic primary contests. Nearly three quarters of respondents said they are either unconcerned with the label of “socialist” or view it as an asset. In a separate question referencing Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win in New York City as a democratic socialist, 31 percent said the label “socialist” is a plus, 25 percent said it is a minus, and 43 percent said it does not matter.
When asked what type of candidate they would prefer atop the Democratic ticket in 2028, 46 percent said a progressive, compared with 23 percent who chose a liberal and 32 percent who chose a moderate. The poll also measured views of prominent Democrats. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez received the highest favorability rating at 85 percent favorable, 7 percent unfavorable, and 8 percent not sure. Kamala Harris followed with 81 percent favorable. Gavin Newsom registered 79 percent favorable. Pete Buttigieg stood at 78 percent favorable, and Joe Biden at 72 percent favorable.
Although Harris maintains high favorability, 66 percent of respondents said she “had her shot” and should not run again in 2028, while 34 percent said she should run. The data also showed that 64 percent believe the right woman candidate can still win the presidency, while 36 percent said Democrats should nominate a man in 2028.
While the poll cannot predict the outcome of a race two years away, New Republic editorial director Emily Cooke drew a broader conclusion from the results. “It’s impossible to come away from these results without concluding that economic populism is a winning message for loyal Democrats,” she wrote.
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