Most Americans have a negative view of socialism, according to the Fox News Voter Poll, even as left-wing candidates across the country notched resounding victories on Election Day.
Of the 100,000 registered voters surveyed, 54% viewed socialism unfavorably, while roughly a third viewed the ideology favorably.
Attitudes to capitalism were nearly the exact inverse, with 57% holding a positive view and 32% viewing it negatively.
Voters may be skeptical of socialism, but they overwhelmingly believe the current economic system is stacked against them, with 69% saying the economy favors the wealthy, according to the poll, which was conducted by SSRS from Oct. 19 to Nov. 3, 2026.
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This dynamic — voters rejecting the label of socialism while also believing the rich enjoy disproportionate economic benefits — could explain why Democratic candidates like Abdul El-Sayed won, despite the opposition portraying them as too radical.
El-Sayed, who defeated Republican Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate race, repeatedly said throughout the campaign that he was a capitalist who did not support unfettered, laissez-faire capitalism.
“I believe in capitalism. I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated,” El-Sayed said in a July interview with CNN’s Manu Raju. “We live in a society right now where too many monopolies and oligopolies can buy politicians to get their way.”
On top of his antitrust focus, El-Sayed frequently hammered away at billionaires, pledging to pursue taxation policies to make them “pay their fair share.”
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Notably, El-Sayed rejected the Democratic socialist label despite supporting Medicare-for-all and routinely campaigning with Sen. Bernie Sanders, the policy’s most prominent champion and a self-described Democratic socialist.
James Talarico in Texas is another Democratic candidate who won big on Tuesday after explicitly pairing his strong belief in capitalism with a sharp critique of wealth and income inequality.
“We have got to take on these monopolies, this consolidation, because again, it’s fundamentally anti-capitalist,” Talarico said during a CNN town hall in October. “Right now, again, because billionaires can buy politicians, all of the gains in this economy, all of the growth is going to the top. All of the wealth is being accumulated by the top 1%.”
The Fox News poll’s results suggest that at least some voters who embrace capitalism and reject socialism were still comfortable supporting candidates like El-Sayed and Talarico, who ran to the left of the typical Democratic nominee without embracing socialism themselves.
The distinction is notable given the political landscape El-Sayed and Talarico faced. Both men were repeatedly branded socialists or Democratic socialists by Republicans, but each responded by defending their preferred form of regulated capitalism.
That distinguishes them from political allies such as Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who have embraced the Democratic socialist label while representing deep-blue constituencies in Vermont and New York City, respectively.
