The centrist Democratic establishment keeps insisting the party needs to move right. Actual moderate Democratic voters disagree—and the polling makes it embarrassing.
A new survey of 2,400 regular Democratic primary voters, commissioned by The New Republic, found that around 70 percent of self-described moderate Democrats think the party is “too timid” on taxing the rich, taxing corporations, and cracking down on lawbreaking companies.
Fewer than 5 percent of moderates said Democrats are “too aggressive” in dealing with corporations and the wealthy.
This comes just as Third Way, the reliable voice of Democratic donor-class anxiety, held a conference where centrist strategists blasted progressive ideas and the party’s left wing. Third Way opposes Medicare for All and wealth taxes—positions they claim represent the party’s moderate voters.
The data says otherwise.
Other recent polls back this up. Seventy-four percent of moderate Democrats favor single-payer health care. Sixty-seven percent support increased taxes on households making over $400,000. Bernie Sanders has a 70 percent favorable rating among moderate Democrats, with only 20 percent viewing him unfavorably.
On social issues, about 65 percent of moderate Democrats are aligned with the party’s current positions on everything from LGBTQ rights to abortion. Only about 25 percent think the party is too liberal on social issues.
This matters because for a decade, pundits have insisted the progressive wing is out of step with regular Democrats. The “woke scolds” narrative has dominated post-2024 coverage. But the numbers show moderate Democratic voters actually want more economic populism, not less.
Politicians are catching on. Governors Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger—both positioned as moderates—have cracked down on ICE and taken populist stances. Senator Ruben Gallego is warning corporations collaborating with Trump that Democrats will break them up. That’s where the voters are.
The party’s moderate bloc is actually more diverse than the overall party—more Black voters, more people without college degrees, more working-class voters with incomes under $50,000. These aren’t people yearning for Clinton-era triangulation.
Third Way president Jon Cowan told the New York Times his group would promote candidates who criticize teachers unions, oppose taxes on billionaires, and support aggressive immigration enforcement. Good luck with that, Jon. It’s not 1992. There’s no evidence Democratic voters want candidates who distance themselves from progressive policies.
The moderate voters aren’t moderate in the way Washington assumes. They want to tax the rich, regulate the powerful, and support the vulnerable. The disconnect isn’t between progressives and moderates—it’s between actual moderate voters and the elite groups who claim to speak for them.