Young people aren't just more inclined to vote for Democrats next week, a majority also support policies embraced by the democratic socialist wing of the party, such as single-payer health care, guaranteed jobs and free tuition for some students, according to a poll by Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

Support for capitalism (43 percent) still exceeds support for socialism (31 percent) in the survey of 18-29-year-olds, the most recent of biennial polls the IOP has been conducting since 2000. But support for the concept of democratic socialism is at 39 percent, and the numbers are higher for broad social and economic policies to empower workers and pay for a government social safety net.

The poll also suggests there could be historic midterm election turnout next week among young voters, who typically do not show up to vote at the same levels as other age groups. The IOP survey found that 40 percent of 18-29-year-olds plan to vote. And while they may not follow through, says John Della Volpe, the IOP's director of polling, the poll's drop-off rate has consistently been about 7.5 percentage points. So even if this year's group fails to show up at twice that rate, the 2018 midterm youth vote will exceed the modern record of 21 percent in 1994, Della Volpe says.

"The good news is, there's a marked increase in youth turnout" brewing, "unlike anything we've seen in 24 years" of midterm voting, Della Volpe told reporters on a conference call. "The bad news is that the reason, I think, the youth vote will increase is because of tragedies in their short adult lives," ranging from the back end of the recession to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The poll showed a marked preference for a Democratic-led Congress, 66 percent to 32 percent, though that gap has narrowed since the spring poll, when Democrats were favored, 69-28 percent, over Republicans.

And youth voters overall are showing more sympathy for the government support programs espoused by Democratic presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016.

Fifty-six percent of those polled said they support a federal jobs guarantee for a job that pays at least $15 an hour and includes health care, paid sick leave and family leave. The number jumps to 63 percent among likely voters. A fifth of all 18-29-year-olds, and 24 percent of likely voters that age, oppose the policy.

A strong majority (56 percent) back the idea of free college tuition at public institutions for those in families earning $125,000 or less; the number grows to 62 percent among likely voters. A fifth of all young people polled, and a fourth of likely voters 18-29, reject the idea.

Fifty-five percent support "Medicare for all," a form of single-payer health care that is gaining support among the general public as well. Two-thirds of likely voters 18-29 (67 percent) back the idea. A fifth (21 percent) of all young people polled, and 23 percent of likely voters, oppose Medicare for all.

The numbers underscore a simmering division among Democrats over the future of the party, with the progressive wing urging leaders to move to the left,. The polling does not get into specifics – for example, how free tuition or guaranteed jobs wold be paid for – but the IOP numbers indicate that young people, if they are politically engaged, could influence the future of the Democratic Party.

Sanders – even though he lost in 2016 – probably mounted "the most significant presidential campaign in 50 years, in terms of how young people are starting to think about politics," Della Volpe said.

Richard Sweeney, a Harvard sophomore who worked on the poll, said his fellow students like the policies democratic socialists stand for, "even if they don't support the label itself."