Vice President JD Vance warned Republicans this week not to ignore voters who sympathize with socialism as more Democratic candidates embrace democratic socialist policies.
Vance’s comments came after a CNN poll found that one-third of Democratic voters identify as democratic socialists. The poll also found younger voters were more likely to support progressive policies.
Democratic socialists generally support policies such as government-funded health care, heavily subsidized higher education and higher taxes on wealthy Americans. Some also have called for expanded public housing, abolishing immigration enforcement agencies and major law enforcement reforms.
Vance said Republicans cannot afford to ignore the concerns driving some voters toward democratic socialism.
“Our response to that can’t just be to ignore the economic concerns that I think are feeding this rising interest in socialism,” Vance said on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show.” “You as an American citizen deserve to have a good life in this country, and you deserve to have a government that is making it easier for you to start a family, for you to afford to get a good education, for you to have a good job, for you to afford a home.”
He added that President Donald Trump’s policies are working, saying new investments are creating middle-class jobs for young people.
But Vance acknowledged that if the economy does not improve, younger voters could increasingly turn to democratic socialism as an alternative.
“My warning to my fellow Republicans would be, if we don’t get this right, don’t blame young people for being sympathetic to socialism. We’ve got to blame ourselves,” he said.
In the 2024 election, Trump performed strongest among voters ages 45 to 64, while then-Vice President Kamala Harris won voters ages 18 to 29 by an 11-point margin, 54% to 43%, according to a CBS News exit poll.
Vance’s comments come as the Trump administration has struggled to reduce inflation, which was a major issue during President Joe Biden’s administration.
As of July 2026, consumer inflation over a 12-month period stood at 3.3%. In November 2024, when Harris lost the presidential election, inflation was 2.7%.
