From the 2026 National Study

Inside the Parties

Image, Ballot, and Message Testing
September 28th, 2026

Democrat Direction

Traditional De

40%

Dem. Socialist

25%

Unsure

34%

Full Question:

Looking ahead to the 2026 and 2028 elections, if Democrats win control of Congress and the White House, which type of Democrat policies would you prefer to see implemented in an effort to improve the economy and the cost of living?

Traditional Democrat and Biden-era policies
Democratic Socialists of America policies
Unsure

	Traditional De	Dem. Socialist	Unsure
Republican	43	4	53
Democrat	42	43	15
Ind/Other	33	29	39
Female	40	24	36
Male	40	27	32
18-34	25	50	25
35-44	38	42	21
45-54	34	26	40
55-64	42	19	39
65+	47	16	37
Conservative	45	5	50
Moderate	48	21	31
Liberal	23	62	14
White	42	22	36
Hispanic	34	33	33
Black	34	42	24
Other Race	35	29	37
HS	39	24	38
Some College	39	22	39
College	42	30	29
Grad+	44	29	27
4 of 4	43	23	34
3 of 4	41	20	39
2 of 4	31	28	41
1 of 4	33	39	29
0 of 4	39	32	29
South	41	21	38
West	40	31	29
Midwest	41	27	33
Northeast	39	25	35
Suburban	43	24	33
Urban	35	34	31
Rural	42	18	39

Socialism / DSA

V. Concerned

44%

Sw' Concerned

10%

Sw' Optimistic

19%

V. Optimistic

15%

Unsure

12%

Full Question:

What are your thoughts about the rise of socialism and of candidates from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) Party?

Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
Somewhat optimistic
Very optimistic
Unsure

	V. Concerned	Sw' Concerned	Sw' Optimistic	V. Optimistic	Unsure
Republican	87	7	1	2	4
Democrat	8	12	34	27	20
Ind/Other	31	13	25	17	16
Female	43	9	20	13	15
Male	46	11	18	16	9
18-34	18	7	22	36	17
35-44	30	7	23	24	15
45-54	49	7	16	18	10
55-64	53	11	16	10	10
65+	50	12	19	7	12
Conservative	83	8	2	2	5
Moderate	24	18	27	9	21
Liberal	4	4	37	43	12
White	49	10	18	14	10
Hispanic	30	11	22	18	18
Black	25	8	26	14	26
Other Race	38	12	15	21	15
HS	49	7	16	11	16
Some College	45	14	17	14	11
College	41	10	21	19	9
Grad+	34	11	25	19	12
4 of 4	47	10	19	14	11
3 of 4	49	11	13	11	16
2 of 4	47	9	20	11	13
1 of 4	34	8	31	20	7
0 of 4	34	11	18	21	16
South	46	10	20	12	12
West	44	9	16	18	13
Midwest	43	8	22	17	9
Northeast	41	13	16	13	16
Suburban	46	9	21	14	10
Urban	37	11	18	18	16
Rural	49	11	16	12	12

Party on Issues

Democrat

47%

Republican

44%

Unsure

Full Question:

Which political Party is talking about policies you care about?

Democrat Party
Republican Party
Unsure

	Democrat	Republican	Unsure
Republican	1	96	3
Democrat	94	1	4
Ind/Other	46	23	31
Female	51	40	8
Male	42	48	10
18-34	62	14	24
35-44	58	33	9
45-54	44	46	9
55-64	37	54	9
65+	45	50	6
Conservative	8	87	5
Moderate	65	20	16
Liberal	91	2	7
White	43	48	9
Hispanic	54	37	8
Black	73	16	11
Other Race	50	33	17
HS	41	50	8
Some College	43	48	9
College	52	38	10
Grad+	60	29	11
4 of 4	47	46	7
3 of 4	38	51	10
2 of 4	39	47	14
1 of 4	52	36	12
0 of 4	56	32	12
South	44	47	9
West	48	42	11
Midwest	48	43	9
Northeast	50	41	9
Suburban	46	44	10
Urban	55	36	9
Rural	40	51	9

GOP Policies

Too Extreme

50%

Just About Right

33%

Not Cons. Enough

17%

Full Question:

What is your opinion of the policies being supported by Republicans?

Too extreme
Just about right
Not conservative enough

	Too Extreme	Just About Right	Not Cons. Enough
Republican	2	69	29
Democrat	91	2	6
Ind/Other	65	22	13
Female	53	34	13
Male	47	32	21
18-34	72	13	15
35-44	63	21	16
45-54	47	32	21
55-64	42	43	15
65+	45	39	17
Conservative	7	62	32
Moderate	74	19	7
Liberal	96	2	2
White	47	36	17
Hispanic	57	32	10
Black	63	13	23
Other Race	57	29	14
HS	40	38	22
Some College	46	37	16
College	58	28	13
Grad+	69	21	10
4 of 4	51	34	15
3 of 4	40	43	17
2 of 4	42	34	24
1 of 4	63	27	9
0 of 4	56	25	20
South	47	33	20
West	52	34	14
Midwest	52	33	14
Northeast	51	33	15
Suburban	51	32	17
Urban	56	31	13
Rural	43	36	21

Democrat Policies

Too Extreme

46%

Just about right

28%

Not Prog. Enough

26%

Full Question:

What is your opinion of the policies being supported by Democrats?

Too extreme
Just about right
Not progressive enough

	Too Extreme	Just about right	Not Prog. Enough
Republican	88	2	9
Democrat	4	56	41
Ind/Other	44	26	30
Female	42	31	28
Male	51	25	24
18-34	22	32	46
35-44	40	25	35
45-54	55	22	22
55-64	54	25	21
65+	48	32	21
Conservative	84	7	9
Moderate	31	48	21
Liberal	3	39	58
White	51	25	24
Hispanic	37	37	26
Black	25	38	37
Other Race	36	32	32
HS	49	26	24
Some College	48	26	26
College	45	28	26
Grad+	37	35	28
4 of 4	48	29	23
3 of 4	55	25	20
2 of 4	47	23	29
1 of 4	37	29	34
0 of 4	37	29	34
South	48	29	23
West	48	24	28
Midwest	44	29	27
Northeast	43	30	27
Suburban	47	28	25
Urban	39	30	31
Rural	52	25	22

Trump Affinity

Full Support

35%

Support Policies

10%

Don't Support

53%

Unsure

Full Question:

When thinking about President Donald Trump, which statement most aligns with your views?

I support him and his policies
I dislike him personally but support most of his policies
I dislike him personally and don't support most of his policies
Unsure

	Full Support	Support Policies	Don't Support	Unsure
Republican	79	16	2	3
Democrat	1	2	96	1
Ind/Other	14	13	67	5
Female	34	8	56	2
Male	36	12	49	3
18-34	10	4	84	2
35-44	24	12	60	5
45-54	35	12	50	3
55-64	44	11	41	4
65+	40	9	48	2
Conservative	71	15	11	3
Moderate	13	11	73	3
Liberal	2	0	97	1
White	38	10	49	2
Hispanic	29	8	60	3
Black	16	6	74	5
Other Race	25	12	60	3
HS	43	7	48	2
Some College	37	11	48	4
College	29	12	57	2
Grad+	19	13	66	2
4 of 4	37	9	51	3
3 of 4	42	13	41	3
2 of 4	33	12	50	5
1 of 4	28	10	58	4
0 of 4	25	7	67	1
South	38	8	51	3
West	30	12	54	4
Midwest	33	11	55	1
Northeast	34	11	52	3
Suburban	35	10	52	3
Urban	29	10	58	3
Rural	41	10	47	2

Political ID

Conservative

24%

Moderate

18%

MAGA

16%

Liberal

10%

Progressive

10%

Dem. Socialist

Socialist

Other

None

Full Question:

Which of the following best describes your political views?

Conservative
Moderate
MAGA
Liberal
Progressive
Democratic Socialist
Socialist
Other
None of the above

	Conservative	Moderate	MAGA	Liberal	Progressive	Dem. Socialist	Socialist	Other	None
Republican	47	7	38	0	0	0	0	4	3
Democrat	2	22	0	24	20	21	1	4	5
Ind/Other	18	33	4	4	9	5	3	11	12
Female	23	18	15	13	10	10	1	4	6
Male	24	19	17	7	9	9	2	7	5
18-34	4	10	5	12	15	21	10	16	7
35-44	17	19	13	11	15	12	1	4	8
45-54	25	16	16	8	10	12	0	4	8
55-64	25	18	24	9	8	5	0	5	6
65+	29	22	16	11	7	7	0	3	3
Conservative	51	3	34	0	2	3	0	5	3
Moderate	5	55	5	6	8	6	0	8	8
Liberal	2	2	0	33	27	24	5	3	5
White	27	18	17	10	10	7	1	5	4
Hispanic	20	23	16	9	6	11	1	5	7
Black	5	17	9	14	14	22	3	3	12
Other Race	15	21	9	8	11	16	1	12	7
HS	25	12	22	9	8	9	2	6	7
Some College	25	19	16	9	9	9	1	5	6
College	22	22	12	10	12	12	1	4	4
Grad+	18	27	7	16	13	10	0	5	4
4 of 4	26	20	16	12	10	7	1	3	5
3 of 4	29	16	20	6	9	7	0	6	6
2 of 4	16	17	20	8	8	10	4	10	6
1 of 4	28	18	8	9	15	8	2	3	8
0 of 4	13	17	14	10	9	18	3	10	6
South	26	17	17	10	9	9	1	5	5
West	25	20	11	8	11	12	2	7	5
Midwest	23	16	16	12	10	11	2	6	5
Northeast	16	21	21	13	10	6	1	4	7
Suburban	24	21	15	11	9	9	2	6	5
Urban	17	19	14	10	13	13	2	6	6
Rural	29	15	19	10	8	7	1	4	7

Political ID (Other)

119 Verbatim Responses Some responses fit into multiple themes

Libertarian

33%

Independent

24%

Nationalist

22%

Progressive

22%

Full Question:

Which of the following best describes your political views?

Libertarian

Libertarian respondents prioritize individual freedom and limited government control across personal and economic matters.

"Libertarian"
"I was a Republican, now I more fully agree with the opening statements in Thoreau's Civil Disobedience. Government controls far too many things now."

Independent

Respondents identifying as Independent emphasize non-partisan thinking and personal autonomy in political choices.

"Independent"
"Person not party"

Nationalist

Nationalist respondents emphasize national sovereignty, pride in America, and protection of national interests and identity.

"Nationalist"
"America first"

Progressive

Progressive respondents advocate for social equity, government support for the majority, and alignment with European-style social policies.

"Social Democrat"
"Common sense and more for the majority of Americans (not the rich)"

	Libertarian	Independent	Nationalist	Progressive
Republican	47	28	24	1
Democrat	39	19	0	42
Ind/Other	22	24	31	24
Male	41	25	30	5
Female	23	23	12	44
18-34	47	6	23	24
35-44	0	23	65	13
45-54	21	46	12	26
55-64	12	44	31	13
65+	44	29	1	27
Moderate	25	20	34	22
Conservative	56	26	17	1
Liberal	1	24	4	71
White	31	28	26	16
Hispanic	11	13	20	56
Black	0	0	0	100
Other Race	68	9	1	21
HS	52	6	29	13
Some College	21	23	16	40
College	14	51	21	13
Grad+	7	57	8	34
4 of 4	18	38	19	28
3 of 4	16	38	28	18
2 of 4	51	16	31	1
1 of 4	0	84	0	16
0 of 4	45	6	20	29
South	17	25	43	14
West	45	34	9	12
Midwest	28	11	19	44
Northeast	61	18	5	16
Suburban	30	26	22	23
Urban	38	29	14	18
Rural	30	13	35	25

Methodology & Demographics

Fielded On:: September 27-28, 2026
Method:: Mobile Text Responses
Population & Sample Description:: 2248 Likely General Election Voters
Weighting:: Age, Gender, Race, and Education
MoE:: ±2.04%

Self-Reported Party

Republican	40%
Democrat	39%
Ind/Other	21%

Gender

Female	53%
Male	47%

Age

18-34	11%
35-44	13%
45-54	15%
55-64	20%
65+	41%

Ideology

Conservative	43%
Moderate	31%
Liberal	26%

Race

White	76%
Hispanic	10%
Black	9%
Other Race	5%

Education

HS	36%
Some College	27%
College	22%
Grad+	15%

Last 4 Generals

4 of 4	52%
3 of 4	15%
2 of 4	9%
1 of 4	6%
0 of 4	17%

Region

South	39%
West	23%
Midwest	20%
Northeast	17%

Household Income

<$50k	16%
$50-75k	17%
$75-100k	18%
$100-150k	34%
$150k+	14%

Community Type

Suburban	41%
Urban	30%
Rural	29%

For information, contact:

Ryan Munce

President

co/efficient

ryan@coefficient.org