Memo: Progressives Control the Future of the Party
By Ethan Winter, Senior Advisor; Sean McElwee, Executive Director; Julian Brave NoiseCat, Vice President of Policy & Strategy.
Executive Summary:
A fundamental change is taking place within the Democratic Party. For decades, Democrats feared being called “liberal,” let alone “progressive.” Indeed, it was President Bill Clinton who declared the “era of big government” to be over. Now, however, Bernie Sanders, a senator from Vermont and a self-professed democratic socialist, is a frontrunner in the Democratic Party’s presidential primary. And it’s not just Sanders. First-year Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rose to prominence following her endorsement by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and she has quickly become one of the most recognizable and popular figures in the party.
Executive Summary
We find popular support among registered voters for a range of progressive policies, including a deportation moratorium, Medicare for All, a 70 percent marginal tax rate, and a $2.5 trillion investment in public housing.
The youngest block of voters, aged eighteen through twenty-nine, overwhelmingly supports these policies. On net, voters under the age of thirty support a deportation moratorium by 26 points, Medicare for All by 32 points, affordable housing by 48 points, and a 70 percent marginal tax rate by 46 points.
A plurality of Democrats prefers socialism to capitalism, with support driven by younger voters.
