Majority of Americans would vote against socialist candidate for president

Americans are not happy with the prospect of a socialist candidate like Bernie Sanders for president, a new poll finds.

A majority of US residents — 53 percent — said they would vote against a socialist candidate for president, the Gallup poll released Tuesday reveals. Meanwhile, only 45 percent of respondents in the poll said they would vote for a socialist.

In fact, socialism was the only category in the poll rejected by a majority of Americans.

For example, 60 percent of Americans said they would vote for an atheist while 38 percent said they wouldn’t. And more than nine in 10 Americans said they would vote for a presidential candidate nominated by their party who is black, Catholic, Hispanic, Jewish or a woman.

The findings come as Sanders (I-Vt.) — a self-described Democratic socialist — is a top-tier candidate vying to win the Democratic nomination for president. He was leading in polls to win Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary and has surged ahead of Joe Biden in national polls.

There is a political divide over the socialist candidate question, however.

For example, 82 percent of Republicans said they wouldn’t vote for a socialist while just 17 percent said they would. By comparison, 76 percent of Democrats said they would vote for a socialist, while 21 percent wouldn’t.

Significantly, only 45 percent of key swing-state voters — self-described independents — would vote for a socialist while 51 percent said they would not.