Sen. Bernie Sanders (Getty Images/Sean Rayford)

Nearly a third of U.S. likely voters say the Democrat Party should “officially declare itself a socialist party,” a new Rasmussen survey reveals.

With Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) - a self-described “Democratic Socialist” - a top contender to be its presidential candidate and the emergence of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) “squad” of Democrat congresswomen promoting socialist policies, 31% of likely voters responded “Yes” to the following question:

“Should the national Democratic Party officially declare itself a socialist party?”

· Yes: 31%

· No: 49%

· Not Sure: 20%

Only 18% of those who identify as Democrat voters said the party should embrace the socialist label, while 61% said it should not and 21% were “not sure.”

Nationally, 59% of likely voters said they have either a “very unfavorable” (42%) or “somewhat unfavorable” (17%) impression of socialism, compared to just 38% of Democrat voters:

Impression of Socialism:

· Very Favorable: 9% (Dems: 13%)

· Somewhat Favorable: 20% (Dems: 32%)

· Somewhat Unfavorable: 17% (Dems: 17%)

· Very Unfavorable: 42% (Dems: 21%)

· Not Sure: 11% (Dems: 17%)

Half (50%) of U.S. likely voters who have a “very unfavorable” impression of socialism say the Democrat Party should officially declare itself socialist, while 38% oppose the idea and 13% are unsure.

Of those who have a “very favorable” view of socialism, 40% say the party should embrace the label, topping the 38% who say it shouldn’t and 21% who are “not sure.”

Rasmussen’s national survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted February 24-25, 2020 and has a Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.