A new poll by the Heartland Institute and Rasmussen published last week found that a vast majority of likely voters prefer a free-market economic system over a socialist economic system. The same most likely voters also have a negative view of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the protégé of America’s proudest socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
When asked, “Do you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable impression of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?,” 18% said “very favorable,” 19% “somewhat favorable,” and 38% of likely voters said they have a “very unfavorable” impression of AOC. 20% said they have a “somewhat unfavorable” impression of the Congresswoman from the Bronx, and 15% said they are not sure.
When asked, “Which is better – a free-market economic system or socialism?” 75% of respondents answered “free-market economic system.” Only 11% answered “socialism.”
As to President-elect Joe Biden, 36% of likely voters said they have a “very unfavorable impression,” compared with 32% who said they have a “very favorable impression.” 19% said they have a “somewhat favorable impression” of Biden, 11% “somewhat unfavorable impression,” and 2% said they are “not sure.”
That makes it 47% disapprove vs. 51% who approve of the next president.
In comparison, the average polling rate kept by the website FiveThirtyEight, shows President Donald Trump’s approval at 42.7%, compared with 53% disapproval.
One noteworthy result of the poll, which included 1,000 respondents who are both registered to vote and intend to vote in the next election: about 20% of respondents ages 18-39 chose socialism, same as the response to the same question in 2019. However, support for a “free market” in the same age group rose from 59% in 2019 to 68% in 2020.