Fifty-three percent of likely U.S. voters aged 18 to 39 said in a September 2025 Heartland Institute/Rasmussen Reports national survey that they want a Democratic Socialist to win the 2028 presidential election — a figure that held at 51% in a November follow-up poll. A run of socialist primary victories in New York and Colorado in the same cycle shows that preference is already converting into congressional seats, shifting the Democratic Party's policy center of gravity before the next presidential primary begins.
Primary Scoreboard: New York and Colorado
Three candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani — Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier — won Democratic congressional primaries against establishment-backed opponents. In Colorado's 1st Congressional District, 29-year-old Melat Kiros defeated Rep. Diana DeGette, who had held the seat for nearly three decades. Mamdani, a self-described socialist, carried a 52% favorable rating among young voters in the November Heartland/Rasmussen poll.
The Policy Demand Set
The survey data maps a specific, concrete policy agenda. Seventy-six percent of young voters agreed in September that major industries — including health care, energy, and big tech — should be nationalized. Sixty-two percent support expanding Mamdani's government housing and rent-freeze proposals nationwide; 58% back extending his government-owned grocery store plan to every U.S. town. Fifty-five percent support a wealth-confiscation law targeting second homes, luxury cars, and private boats to fund first-home purchases for younger buyers.
Housing as the Transmission Mechanism
The chain from grievance to ideology runs through housing. Seventy-four percent of young voters in the October/November poll said U.S. housing costs have reached a crisis level. Among young voters who want a Democratic Socialist president, 31% named high housing costs as their primary reason — the single most common answer in the September survey. Sixty-two percent say the U.S. economy is unfair to young people; 36% describe themselves as financially struggling or in crisis.
Cross-Party Swing Exposure
The housing grievance creates measurable crossover pressure in both directions. Forty-two percent of young Democrats said in the October/November poll they would vote for a Republican presidential candidate who offered the strongest plan to cut housing costs; 45% of young Republicans said the same about a Democrat. The November poll also found that 27% of voters aged 18 to 39 who backed President Donald Trump in 2024 nonetheless want a Democratic Socialist to win the 2028 presidency. Chris Talgo of The Heartland Institute, who analyzed the data, argues the findings indicate socialist appeal is driven by economic conditions rather than ideological conversion, and that supply-side housing reform, reduced government spending, and an end to crony capitalism represent the substantive counter-offer required to reverse the trend.