Two-thirds of voters say they view the recently introduced Green New Deal being advocated by progressive lawmakers as “largely socialist,” according to a new Hill-HarrisX poll.
Sixty-seven percent of voters surveyed in the poll released Thursday said they view the proposal introduced last month by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) as “largely socialist,” while 33 percent said they would describe it as “largely capitalist.”
While the poll did not gauge support or opposition to the proposal itself, it found that a majority of voters from across the political spectrum view the measure as “largely socialist,” including 73 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of independents.
The Green New Deal is one of several progressive proposals that has quickly garnered the support of 2020 Democratic White House hopefuls.
Nearly all of the Senate Democrats who are running for president have backed the proposal, while another candidate, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), said last week that she had concerns about the “vagueness” of the measure.
The Hill-HarrisX poll found that other proposals being backed by certain progressives running in 2020 are also viewed as “largely socialist.”
Seventy-four percent of respondents said universal daycare, which has been proposed by 2020 candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), was considered “largely socialist,” while 26 percent said it was “largely capitalist.”
A majority of voters also said that free college tuition, championed by presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), was “largely socialist.” Seventy-five percent of registered voters referred to it that way, while 25 percent said it was “largely capitalist.”
The survey results come as 2020 candidates work to brand themselves in the crowded Democratic primary field while also distinguishing themselves from other contenders.
Sanders, who ran in 2016, has referred to himself as a “democratic socialist” while fellow 2020 contender Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has rejected the term, opting to instead refer to herself as a “progressive Democrat.”
The Hill-HarrisX survey of 1,002 registered voters was conducted online from Feb. 23-24. The sampling margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
— Julia Manchester
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