New Poll Shows Democratic and Independent Voters Prefer Populism over ‘Abundance’
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As 'Abundance' proponents gather in D.C. on Wednesday, leading progressives are pushing back with a new poll that shows their message underperforms with both Democratic and Independent voters. Strategist and pollster Dan Cohen will offer a virtual briefing on the poll, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Demand Progress, to interested members of the media and political strategists on Wednesday, June 4 at 3 PM ET. He will also offer responses to the poll’s critics.
In short, populist-aligned messaging consistently outperforms abundance-aligned messaging with Democrats and Independents — and sometimes even with Republicans.
For instance, when populist message is pitted against an abundance-aligned message, the populist message is favored by a strong majority of Democrats (59-16.8%) a plurality of Independents (44.3-28.4%) and a plurality of the electorate as a whole (42.8-29.2%).
In a second battery of tests, 81.6% of voters responded favorably to a populist message, whereas only 47.7% responded favorably to an abundance-aligned message. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all responded more favorably to the populist message than to the abundance-aligned message.
The poll of 1,200 registered voters across the U.S., was conducted on the YouGov platform over the dates of May 8 and May 13, 2025. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.09%.
PRESS CALL DETAILS
WHAT: Strategist Dan Cohen will offer a briefing on a new poll that tested the ‘abundance’ theory against a populist frame to determine which message offers a stronger path forward for the Democratic Party.
WHEN: 3 PM ET on Wednesday, June 4
WHERE: Via Zoom. Please sign up here to receive a link.
WHY: See detailed poll questions and results here.