Red scare, reconsidered.
Only about one in five Americans say communism represents a “major threat” inside the United States, according to a striking new poll.
The findings come as attention begins shifting toward the 2028 presidential election, with a notable share of voters viewing two of the most prominent potential Democratic contenders as “socialists.”
Overall, two-thirds of Americans — 66% — say communists pose at least some level of threat to the country, according to an Economist/YouGov poll released Tuesday.
The survey found that 18% consider communists a major threat, while 25% describe them as a moderate threat and 23% see them as a minor threat.
But views on the threat of communism divide sharply along ideological lines, with liberals and conservatives giving markedly different answers.
Among Americans who identify as very liberal, 79% said communists are not a threat; among those who describe themselves as liberal, 52% said the same.
Conservatives were far more likely to express concern: 26% of self-described conservatives and 52% of very conservative respondents said communists pose a major threat in America today.
The survey also asked Americans to rank politicians based on whether they thought they were socialist.
One in 5 (20%) would classify Gavin Newsom as a socialist and more than a quarter (27%) would classify Kamala Harris as a socialist.
New York’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani was viewed as a socialist by 51% of the adult population, just shy of the 55% who think the same of veteran Vermont Senator and would-be presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Almost half (45%) of those surveyed said they believed New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a socialist.
Elizabeth Warren finished out the list, with 25% of Americans believing the Massachusetts Senator to be a socialist.
Of the other prominent Democrats listed in the survey, all of them are considered socialist by at least one in five voters.
Almost a quarter (23%) view former President Joe Biden as a socialist, just slightly less than the 27% who think so of his former boss, President Barack Obama.
Those with different political views also had different verdicts on how left-wing leading Democrats were.
For instance, only 6% of people who identify as very liberal said they believe Gov. Newsom is a socialist, but 52% of those who are very conservative identify him as a socialist.
