Public Prefers Moderate Candidates From Dems & GOP

Some Bernie Sanders supporters want the Democratic Party to move pretty radically to the left. They point to the victories of Sanders-supported candidates in New York and Massachusetts as proof that the country wants candidates that are more like Bernie Sanders. But they overlook the fact that outside of those two cases (in which the districts were very liberal ones) most Sanders-backed candidates have lost their bid to beat more moderate Democrats in a primary.

I am a progressive, and I would love it if the American public agreed with me and elected a very progressive president and Congress. Unfortunately, most of the country is pretty moderate. They don't like it when a political party strays too far from the center. And it would be a mistake for the Democrats to suddenly become the party of Bernie Sanders.

This is demonstrated by the chart above. Note that the public (and every demographic group), when asked whether they preferred Democratic candidates to be like Sanders or Obama (who was liberal, but more moderate than Sanders), most chose Obama.

I do think a lot of Americans like many progressive ideas, and would support them on an individual basis. But the people do not want the party to lurch radically to the left. That would be a good way to blow the golden opportunity that Democrats have in the 2018 election (and in 2020). The party's ideological purity is not nearly as important in 2018 (or 2020) as getting as many Republicans voted out of Congress as possible.

And the chart below shows much the same for the Republican Party. One reason a "blue wave" is possible this year is because the public sees the Republicans as having become too extreme on the right side of the political spectrum. When asked whether they would prefer Republican candidates to be more like George W. Bush or Donald Trump, the public preferred the more moderate Bush.

These charts reflect the results of the new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between September 2nd and 4th of a national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,254 registered voters). The margin of error for adults is 3 points, and for registered voters is 2.9 points.