GOP pollster: ‘Extremists on the left’ will help Republicans

GOP pollster Jim McLaughlin said on Thursday that “extremist” figures on the political left will help Republicans ahead of the midterm elections in November. 

“For a long time, the media was saying look at those extremists on the right, now folks are saying these are the extremists on the left,” McLaughlin told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha on “What America’s Thinking.”

“These are the parties that are saying ‘we’re socialists now. We want open borders, we want people who are not citizens to be able to vote. We want to raise your taxes.’ That’s the kind of agenda that’s going to really help the Republicans in November, and I really think it’s going to help them in terms of turnout,” he continued. 

McLaughlin’s comments come as progressive candidates such as New York congressional hopeful Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who identifies as a Democratic socialist — gain prominence within the Democratic Party. 

Ocasio-Cortez, who beat longtime Rep. Joe Crowley (D) in New York’s 14th district’s Democratic primary, has championed various liberal causes such as debt-free college, single-payer health care, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

— Julia Manchester