News/Commentary

NBC poll asks voters about ICE and socialism — one of them gets a warmer reception

September 21, 2026 | | Print Article

A new NBC poll spells bad news for Democrats as the midterms quickly approach.

While the media’s coverage of DSA candidate popularity would have you believe that Americans all over the country are embracing socialist ideals, a recent poll indicates that Republicans may have less to fear than initially believed.

According to the Sunday poll, both socialism and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are not incredibly popular with Americans in general, but ICE is a whopping 86% more popular than socialism. A mere 21% of registered voters have a positive view of the ideology, while 39% of registered voters support ICE. Capitalism also boasts very high levels of support, which is good news for those worried the United States is facing an imminent DSA takeover.

On the other hand, support is generally trending downward for President Donald Trump and Republicans in general. While right-wing lawmakers and groups still rank above DSA and socialism in this poll, it is something the GOP is definitely going to want to address before preparing for the 2028 presidential election.

A New York Times/Siena University poll yielded similar results.

“The poll found 51% of likely voters said they had an unfavorable view of socialism, including 40% who viewed it very unfavorably. Thirty-one percent said they had a favorable view, 7% said they had not heard of socialism, and 10% said they did not know or declined to answer,” Newsmax reported.

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Even fewer voters were willing to support DSA than socialism in general.

“Eighteen percent of likely voters said they considered themselves democratic socialists, compared with 80% who said they did not,” the outlet noted. “Among self-identified Democrats, 38% called themselves democratic socialists, while 57% did not. Among independents, 14% identified as democratic socialists.”

When voters were questioned about Democratic candidates, the results became a little more unclear, however.

“Thirty percent said they would rather vote for a Democrat who does not consider himself or herself a democratic socialist, while 13% preferred one who does. Another 44% said it would not matter either way, and 9% said they would never vote for a Democrat,” Newsmax reported, indicating that despite not believing in the ideology themselves, Democrat voters may still passively embrace a DSA candidate if they had the right platform. “Among voters who said they intended to support a Democrat for Congress this fall, 23% said they preferred a democratic socialist candidate, 17% said they preferred a candidate who did not identify that way, and 56% said it did not matter.”

Sierra Marlee
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