More than a quarter of American voters now believe socialism is better than capitalism, and this preference is strongest among Democrats.
A recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 27% of Likely U.S. Voters say socialism is a better system than capitalism, up from 25% in March. Forty-seven percent (47%) say capitalism is better. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure. Support for capitalism has declined by 20 points since February 2023, when 67% of voters said capitalism was better than socialism.
However, the survey revealed some bizarre results: Only seventy percent (70%) of Republicans believe capitalism is better than socialism. Unsurprisingly just 32% of Democrats agree. Forty percent (40%) of Democrats say socialism is better. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 47% think capitalism is better than socialism, while 25% believe socialism is better and 28% are not sure which is better.
Most voters believe that America is still at least somewhat capitalist. Thirty-six percent (36%) say the U.S. economy today is a generally free market economy, while another 32% think it is a partially free market economy. Eleven percent (11%) believe it’s best to describe the U.S. economy today as partially socialist. Only seven percent (7%) say the U.S. economy is generally socialist, and 13% are not sure.
Just 32% of Likely Voters say they would vote for a candidate who supported socialism, while 45% would not and 22% are not sure.
Fifty-two percent (52%) of Democrats would vote for a candidate who supported socialism, but only 16% of Republicans and 28% of unaffiliated voters would do so. Seventy percent (60%) of Republicans, 21% of Democrats and 47% of unaffiliated voters would not vote for a socialist candidate.
Republicans (45%) are more likely than Democrats (30%) or unaffiliated voters (35%) to believe the U.S. economy today is a generally free market economy.
Significantly more men (60%) than women voters (39%) think capitalism is a better system than socialism.
Thirty-three percent (33%) of whites, 45% of black voters, 42% of Hispanics and eight percent (8%) of other minorities would vote for a candidate who supported socialism. Black voters are least likely to believe that capitalism is better than socialism.
Older voters are more likely to say the U.S. economy today is a generally free market economy. Those under 30 are most likely to say they would vote for a socialist candidate.
Breaking down the electorate by income categories, voters earning between $50,000 and $100,000 are most likely to say they would not vote for a socialist.
While 48% of private sector workers and 61% of retirees say capitalism is a better system than socialism, only 39% of government workers agree.
Seventy-one percent (71%) of those who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election believe capitalism is a better system, but just 32% of Kamala Harris voters share that belief.
The survey of 1,141 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on June 29-July 1, 2026 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology. To see survey question wording, click here.
