Likely Democratic presidential primary voters in Texas and California — the two states with the most pledged delegates to award on Super Tuesday — view socialism more positively than capitalism, according to a CBS News/YouGov tracking poll released Sunday.
The survey showed 56% of Democratic primary voters in Texas and 57% in California have a favorable view of socialism. Just 37% of Democratic voters in Texas and 45% in California have a positive view of capitalism, the poll found, signaling widespread discontent with the vastly unequal economic status quo.
“I care more about advancing class struggle and a political program that can help working people than how an undefined ‘socialism’ and ‘capitalism’ polls, but this is still an absolutely remarkable development,” tweeted Bhaskar Sunkara, publisher of the socialist magazine Jacobin.
The same survey showed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a self-identified democratic socialist, leading the presidential primary field in both Texas and California, which will award a combined 643 pledged delegates on Tuesday.
“While Sanders has come under criticism from some opponents because he identifies as a democratic socialist, majorities of Democratic primary voters in California and Texas have at least a somewhat favorable view of socialism, and it is viewed more positively than capitalism,” CBS reported. “This is related to vote: Sanders’ supporters have generally more positive views of socialism than do Biden’s.”
Positive view on…#Texas:
Socialism 56 (+19)
Capitalism 37#California
Socialism 57 (+12)
Capitalism 45CBS News/YouGov poll of Dem voters https://t.co/h1R9fVxP1n pic.twitter.com/qFKtrSmHTV
— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) March 1, 2020
“Did not see those Texas numbers on socialism coming,” Krystal Ball, host of “Rising” on HillTV, tweeted Sunday.
Researcher Kadira Pethiyagoda wrote Monday that Texas voters’ relatively positive view of socialism is “no surprise… for those of us who’ve long highlighted the history of economic left-wing politics in rural areas — the original populism!”
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