Democrats have shifted increasingly more liberal over the past 15 years, a Gallup poll released Thursday finds.
The poll finds that 47 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents identify as both socially liberal and economically moderate or liberal, an eight-point increase from 2008 and 17-point increase since 2001.
Gallup defines 25 percent of Democrats as “pure liberals,” those who identify as both socially and economically liberal. Twenty-two percent are socially liberal, but identify as economic moderates. The poll finds that Democrats at large are shifting more socially liberal. Fifty-three percent of Democrats identify as socially liberal, compared to 35 percent in 2001. The majority of Democrats identify as economic moderates, the poll states.
Gallup says its findings suggest the candidates for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination can be more left-leaning than in the past.
“Primary voters can vary from state to state, but broadly these national trends broadly suggest that Democratic candidates can be somewhat more left-leaning in their policy and issue prescriptions in the 2016 election campaign than in the past,” Gallup said.
The shift to a more liberal Democratic party might explain Hillary Clinton’s recent shift to the left, the poll also suggests. “Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton faces a more liberal base than she did when she last ran for president in 2008, and no doubt will be calibrating her positions accordingly.”
What’s more, the shift may be accountable for the surprisingly strong support shown for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
“The shift in the electorate may help explain the attention being garnered by long-shot candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has used the label “socialist” to describe himself and who is avowedly liberal across the board,” Gallup said.
