Most Democrats want their party to "become more progressive," and say they agree with the more aggressive stance being taken by lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who are calling on the party to take a "more aggressive stance" against President Donald Trump and his administration, according to new polls.
A poll from Survey USA, taken from April 2-6 of 859 Republicans and 885 Democrats, showed that 50% of Democrats want their party to become more progressive, with 24% wanting it to stay the same, and 18% calling for it to become more moderate, reports Real Clear Polling.
Among Republicans, 40% said their party should become more conservative while 44% said it should remain the same.
The polling comes after the Democrats' losses of both chambers of Congress and the White House, leaving the party looking at how to move forward.
Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sanders, I-Vt., representing the progressive wing of the party, have been drawing crowds of tens of thousands with their "Fighting Oligarchy Tour," which has them speaking in Democrat-heavy locations such as Los Angeles and Denver and in Republican states such as Idaho and Montana.
Their tour also appears to be paying off for Ocasio-Cortez's fundraising efforts. She raised $9.6 million in the first three months of this year, more than double what she raised in her second-highest quarter, reports Politico.
She now has more than $8 million in cash-on-hand, according to fundraising reports from the Federal Elections Commission filed Tuesday.
Progressives are also calling on her to launch a primary challenge in 2028 against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been speaking out in part in their rallies against the roles of Elon Musk and other billionaires in Trump's administration, and polls are showing that many Democrats are skeptical of massive cuts in government spending.
In a Harvard-Harris poll taken on April 9-10 among 2,236 registered voters, 62% of Democrats said their party should oppose the Trump administration's efforts to reduce government expenditures. However, independents, by 61% said they think Democrats should join in efforts to cut government spending.
The Harvard-Harris poll also asked respondents if they prefer Democrats like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, "who are calling on Democrats to adopt a more aggressive stance towards Trump and his administration and fight harder," or moderate Democrats "who are willing to compromise on Trump issues important to their base."
The poll showed that 72% of Democrats say they prefer more progressive party members like Sanders and AOC.
Republicans, however, said they support moderate Democrats who will compromise with their party, and independents, by 56%, said they would support the more moderate Democrats over hardliners.
The preferences are also showing in favorability polls on the lawmakers, according to recent Economist/YouGov polling.
Schumer scored a 42% favorability rating among Democrats, but AOC's favorability was at 66%. Sanders' rating was even higher, with 80% of Democrats and 42% of independents having a favorable opinion of him. Only 11% of Democrats and 32% of independents had a negative opinion of the Vermont senator.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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