Despite some calls for 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to scale back on the liberal pandering, a sizable number of party voters back the most leftist of the promises, including “Medicare for all,” gun grabs from those who’ve committed no crime, and a legal open border, according to a new survey.
The latest Zogby Analytics survey, provided to Secrets, also found solid support for slavery reparations to African Americans and the Green New Deal.
The survey was a wide-ranging review of where Democrats stand on key issues and candidates.
It found that former Vice President Joe Biden continues to hold a national lead in the 2020 primary and caucus race, followed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
The surprise is that former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who funds gun control efforts, has pushed his way into fourth place with a multimillion dollar ad campaign. He pushed South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the leader in the Iowa caucus, to fifth.
Several of the candidates, notably Sanders and Warren, have made extravagant promises to voters on key issues and programs, and the poll found that there is a good audience for those, especially in helping illegal immigrants.
Among Democratic voters, Zogby found that:
- 68% support “Medicare for all.”
- 63% would repeal the Trump tax cuts.
- 53% back a ban on new oil and natural gas drilling on federal land.
- 49% support the Green New Deal.
- 43% support reparations for African Americans.
- 39% would decriminalize illegal border crossings.
- 38% want taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants.
- 38% support unlimited abortion.
- 36% support the confiscation of legally owned firearms from those who have not committed a crime.
The survey was conducted online of 443 likely Democratic primary voters. Based on a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error for the poll of 443 is plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.
