Majority rejection of the socialist turn of the Democratic Party

Democratic Senate candidates such as John Fetterman or Mandela Barnes adopt "overly extremist" speeches that are not well received by voters.

The most recent forecasts point to a tie between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party in terms of the number of senators for the November elections. In total, there are ten states that could tip the balance to one side or the other and determine who will enjoy the majority in the Senate.

The Democratic Party's voters intentions are being eroded. Among several reasons is the the strong socialist current that is growing within the party as the midterms approach. Mandela Barnes and John Fetterman, Senate candidates for Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, respectively, are clear examples of how the new generation of the Democratic Party is turning to the extreme left. In this case, in key states that may determine the majority in the Upper House.

"Too extreme."

In Wisconsin, Republican Ron Johnson is seeking to retain his senatorial seat against political rival Mandela Barnes. The Republican senator leads the Democratic candidate by up to four points.

Voters' perception of Johnson is much more moderate than that of Mandela Barnes, whom 44% of respondents note as "too extreme" in his views. In the previous poll, that figure was three out of ten voters (30%), so the perception of this candidate as an extremist has shot up by 14 percentage points.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the gap between Senate candidates John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz has also narrowed in just two months. The latest polls predict a slight lead for the Democratic candidate, far from the one he had in August.

The reason the gap between the two Senate candidates has narrowed is the same as in Wisconsin: extremism in their speeches and actions. Fetterman's career as Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor was marked by recommending the early release of numerous prisoners sentenced to life in prison.

Alert for the socialist drift

Leading voices within the Democratic Party such as Bill Clinton warned that a shift toward socialism by Democratic candidates or officeholders would hurt the party heading into the November midterm elections:

I mean, we lost the last two weeks of the 2020 election to defund the police and socialism, and that was our fault. We shouldn't let that happen.

Apart from Barnes and Fetterman, other politicians with great popularity among the Democratic electorate, such as Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Senator Bernie Sanders, are also espousing an extremist and socialist discourse.

Despite the fact that more and more representatives of the Democratic Party are turning to the extreme left, only 36% of Americans see socialism as a positive thing, including 6% who are totally in favor of this ideology.