A majority of Democrats describe themselves as supporters of the Democratic Socialists of America, according to a Quinnipiac University poll that has energized a debate over just how moderate the party’s base really is.
The survey, fielded Sept. 3–6, asked respondents a single question: “On political matters, do you consider yourself a supporter of the Democratic Socialists of America, or not?” Fifty-nine percent of Democrats answered yes, while 30 percent said no, The Federalist reported.
The partisan gap is stark. Just 2 percent of Republicans identified as DSA supporters, against 96 percent who said they were not. Among independents, 22 percent said yes and 70 percent said no.
What the DSA platform actually says
The numbers land with more weight because of what the organization has put in writing. The DSA released a new platform in June calling for drafting “a new constitution” and creating what it describes as a democratic socialist republic.
Among other planks, the platform urges abolishing the Electoral College and replacing the president and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by — and subordinate to — Congress. It also calls for demilitarizing police departments, disempowering police unions, and redirecting funding toward public services as steps toward fully abolishing the police and prison system.
On immigration, the group wants to abolish ICE, legalize migration, grant amnesty regardless of status, provide a path to citizenship for all permanent residents, and end visa caps and quotas.
Only 10 Democrats sign on to anti-socialism pledge
Another data point cited in the Federalist piece: of more than 250 Democrats in Congress, just 10 have signed onto a coalition that opposes the spread of socialism and communism. As part of what they call a “Promise to America,” those 10 declare that they are capitalist, not socialist; that they want safety, not lawlessness; and that they are proud, not ashamed, of America.
The article argues that the small number of signatories is itself telling — a sign that the party is unwilling to draw a clear line against its left flank.
Overlap with mainstream Democratic positions
The Federalist’s argument is that the DSA is not inventing new ideas so much as following existing Democratic positions to their logical end. It points to former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both of whom have called for abolishing the Electoral College, and to Democratic support for the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would achieve the same result. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger recently committed the state to the compact, a move the article describes as unconstitutional.
On immigration, the piece notes that mainstream Democrats have long backed pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. It cites a 2017 post on X in which Harris wrote that “an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal” and called for giving people a path to citizenship. It also quotes Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., saying, “Let me be clear: No human being is illegal.” The DSA makes a similar argument, and the article contends that the logical conclusion of that position is an end to ICE and deportations — precisely what the DSA platform demands.
The same pattern, the piece argues, shows up in Democratic calls to defund police and prisons, or to treat housing as a right.
The moderate branding problem
The article’s central claim is that when 59 percent of Democrats align themselves with the DSA, socialists can no longer be written off as a fringe faction hijacking an otherwise moderate party. In that framing, socialists are the party’s voters, its candidates, and the endpoint of its agenda.
Democrats, the piece concludes, can keep using the word “moderate” to win general elections — naming Spanberger and Texas state Rep. James Talarico as examples — but moderation requires drawing a line and opposing radicals who want to scrap the Constitution, end borders, and abolish police. Today’s Democrats, it argues, are unwilling to draw that line because they are already on the socialists’ side.
The Quinnipiac findings have not been independently verified by this publication, and the DSA has not responded publicly to the Federalist’s characterization of its platform. The poll’s margin of error and full crosstabs were not included in the source material.
Source: thefederalist.com — https://thefederalist.com/2026/09/17/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-moderate-democrat-anymore/