Poll: Nearly half of millennial Democrats identify as socialist or democratic socialist

Nearly half of millennial Democrats say they identify as a socialist or democratic socialist, according to a new poll from BuzzFeed News and Maru/Blue.

Almost half, 48 percent, said they would call themselves a democratic socialist or socialist, compared to 39 percent who said they identified as neither.

{mosads}The percentages were lower among Republican millennials, with 23 percent saying they would call themselves a democratic socialist or socialist, and 71 percent saying neither.

Nearly twice as many millennials said they at least leaned toward Democrats instead of Republicans, 48 to 25 percent.

Nineteen percent of those surveyed identified as independent.

The survey, conducted between September 21-24, comes just weeks ahead of the midterm elections, where a number of democratic socialist candidates have garnered national attention.

The most prominent is rising star and first-time candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose shocking upset against longtime Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley (N.Y.) rocked the political world.

The Democratic Socialists of America reported record-high membership thanks to a surge in the days after Ocasio-Cortez’s win.

The poll identified millennials as between the ages of 22 and 37, and surveyed 1,006 randomly selected respondents online. The results have a margin of error of 3 percentage points.