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Political Myths and Facts

Common beliefs about Republicans, Democrats, progressives and democratic socialists, checked against surveys and records, with sources.

Last reviewed: October 2026. Figures change; each one below names its source and date.

Americans don't just disagree with each other, we routinely misjudge who is on the other side and what they believe. Researchers have measured this. Below are common beliefs about Republicans, Democrats, progressives and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), each followed by what surveys and records actually show. Some of these myths flatter one side and some flatter the other; the goal is an accurate picture from every direction.

Why we get each other wrong

  • In the Perception Gap study (YouGov survey of 2,100 adults, November 2018), Democrats and Republicans believed about 55% of the other party held extreme views. The real figure was about 30%, so people roughly doubled it.
  • People who follow the news "most of the time" were nearly three times as distorted as those who follow it only now and then. People who post about politics on social media also had larger gaps.
  • More education didn't help. Democrats with postgraduate degrees were less accurate about Republicans than Democrats without a high school diploma, and more education didn't make Republicans more accurate about Democrats.
  • A 2018 study in the Journal of Politics ("The Parties in Our Heads") found that Americans badly overestimate how many people in the other party belong to the groups stereotypically linked to it.

Who is who

  • Republicans and Democrats are the two major parties. In 2025, 27% of U.S. adults called themselves Republicans and 27% Democrats (Gallup).
  • Independents are the largest group, a record 45% in 2025. Most still lean one way: 20% of adults lean Democratic, 15% lean Republican and only about 10% lean to neither.
  • Progressives are a wing of the Democratic Party and the left, not a separate party. The Congressional Progressive Caucus has 97 members in the 119th Congress: 96 in the House and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
  • The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a membership organization founded in 1982, not a political party. It has no ballot line of its own; candidates it backs usually run as Democrats, and sometimes on the Working Families or Green lines or as independents.

Myths about Republicans

"Most Republicans are wealthy."

In the Parties in Our Heads study, Democrats guessed that about 38% of Republicans earn over $250,000 a year. The actual share was about 2%. Today higher income doesn't predict party much at all: in Pew Research Center's 2024 analysis of registered voters, upper-income voters leaned Democratic, 53% to 46%. Republicans do best with middle- and higher-income voters without a four-year degree, with homeowners (51% Republican) and with military veterans (63% Republican).

"Republicans don't think racism exists, and they oppose immigration."

In the Perception Gap survey, 79% of Republicans agreed that racism still exists in America; Democrats guessed 51%. 85% of Republicans agreed that properly controlled immigration can be good for America; Democrats guessed 52%. Large majorities of Republicans also said many Muslims are good Americans (70%; Democrats guessed 41%).

"All Republicans want to ban all abortions."

In Pew's January 2026 survey, 63% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. That leaves roughly a third who say it should be legal in all or most cases. Views differ within the party: 73% of conservative Republicans say illegal in all or most cases, fewer among moderates.

"The Republican Party is all white."

The party is mostly white, but not only. In Pew's 2024 analysis, 20% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters were Hispanic, Black, Asian, another race or multiracial (44% of Democratic voters were). Democrats' advantage with Black and Hispanic voters has narrowed in recent years.

Myths about Democrats

"Democrats are mostly LGBT people and union members."

Republicans in the Parties in Our Heads study guessed that 32% of Democrats are lesbian, gay or bisexual; the actual share was about 6%. They guessed 36.5% of Democrats belong to a union; the actual share was about 10.5%. (Union members do lean Democratic, 59% to 39%, in Pew's 2024 analysis; there just aren't that many of them.)

"Democrats want open borders, think police are bad and aren't proud of America."

In the Perception Gap survey, 71% of Democrats disagreed that the U.S. should have completely open borders (Republicans guessed 38%). 85% disagreed that most police are bad people (Republicans guessed 48%). 82% said they were proud to be American while acknowledging the country's flaws (Republicans guessed 54%). In Pew's 2021 survey, only 25% of Democrats wanted police spending in their area cut; 34% wanted it increased and 40% kept the same.

"All Democrats are socialists" and "Hardly any Democrats like socialism."

Both are wrong. In Gallup's August 2025 poll, 66% of Democrats had a positive view of socialism and 42% a positive view of capitalism. But a positive view of a word isn't the same as joining a movement: the DSA has roughly 100,000 members, while tens of millions of Americans are Democrats. In February 2025, more Democrats wanted their party to become more moderate (45%) than more liberal (29%), according to Gallup. Pew's typology finds the largest Democratic group is the "Democratic Mainstays" (28% of Democrats and leaners), the group most likely to call itself moderate.

"Democrats are the party of the poor" or "Democrats are the party of the rich."

Neither fits well. In Pew's 2024 analysis, lower-income voters leaned Democratic, 58% to 36%, but upper-income voters did too, 53% to 46%. Education divides the parties more than income: college graduates lean Democratic at every income level, while voters without a degree lean Republican from the middle of the income range up.

Myths about progressives

"Progressive means socialist, and progressives are the DSA."

Most progressives in office are not DSA members. Of the 97 Progressive Caucus members, only two current members of Congress, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, are DSA members. Sen. Bernie Sanders calls himself a democratic socialist but is not a DSA member, and he is an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

"Progressives are most of the Democratic Party."

In Pew's 2021 political typology, the most progressive group, the Progressive Left, was 12% of Democrats and Democratic leaners. The young, left-leaning Outsider Left was another 16%; Establishment Liberals were 23% and Democratic Mainstays 28%. The Progressive Left is the most politically engaged group, which helps explain why it can seem bigger than it is. The Perception Gap study also found that the most activist groups on both sides (it called them Progressive Activists and Devoted Conservatives) were the least accurate about the other side.

"Progressives are mostly people of color."

The opposite is closer to true. In Pew's 2021 typology, the Progressive Left was 68% White (non-Hispanic). Black Democrats were concentrated among the more moderate Democratic Mainstays (40% of Black Democrats were in that group).

Myths about the DSA and democratic socialism

"The DSA is a political party you can vote for."

It isn't. The DSA is a nonprofit membership group. It endorses candidates and organizes for them; those candidates appear on the ballot as Democrats (most often), Working Families, Greens or independents. Since 2016 it has increasingly backed socialists in Democratic primaries, including against incumbents, while debating whether to break from the Democratic Party in the long run.

"Democratic socialism means a Soviet- or Venezuela-style government."

The DSA says it rejects "authoritarian visions of socialism." Its stated long-term goal is social ownership and democratic control of the economy, pursued through public ownership, worker ownership and market mechanisms, with near-term goals such as single-payer health care, tuition-free college and a Green New Deal; its 2026 platform also calls for a 32-hour workweek and abolishing the Senate, the Electoral College and ICE. Critics on the right and the center point to positions they see as extreme, and some on the left criticized a 2021 DSA delegation that praised Venezuela's government.

"Progressives and DSA members are communists."

For progressives, no. Communism, as practiced in the Soviet Union, China or Cuba, meant one-party rule and state control of almost the entire economy. Progressives in Congress push for a bigger safety net and tougher regulation within a market economy and a multiparty democracy. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of the best-known progressives, has called herself "a capitalist to my bones." Most progressive officeholders don't call themselves socialists, let alone communists. The Communist Party USA is a separate organization that has existed since 1919.

For the DSA, the honest answer is "mostly no, but it's not that simple." Officially the DSA is a democratic socialist group: it rejects authoritarian socialism and competes in elections. Its best-known officeholders reject the communist label. Asked on The View in October 2025 whether he was a communist, Zohran Mamdani answered, "No, I'm a democratic socialist." But the DSA calls itself a "big tent," running from Sanders-style Democrats to communists, and several of its internal caucuses openly describe themselves as Marxist or communist (City & State, 2026). A July 2026 City Journal analysis, from a conservative think tank, argued that those caucuses hold about half the seats on the DSA's national board. So "the DSA is communist" overstates it, and "there are no communists in the DSA" isn't accurate either.

"Democratic socialism is just what Denmark and Sweden have."

Not by the DSA's own definition: it distinguishes its goal of social ownership from "capitalist social democracy." The Nordic countries are market economies with large welfare states. As Denmark's prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen put it in 2015: "Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy."

"The DSA is tiny and irrelevant" or "The DSA runs the Democratic Party."

Neither. Its membership roughly doubled during Zohran Mamdani's successful run for mayor of New York City, from about 50,700 dues-paying members in October 2024 to about 92,900 in December 2025 (City & State), and later reports put it above 100,000. DSA members hold roughly 250 elected offices at every level, from city councils to Congress. That is real growth, but small next to a party that tens of millions of Americans identify with, and most Democratic officeholders are not members.

Myths about all of us

"Most Americans are loyal partisans."

A record 45% call themselves independents (Gallup, 2025). Most of them lean toward one party; only about 1 in 10 Americans leans toward neither.

"The two sides want completely different things."

In More in Common's 2024 Priority Gap research, inflation was the top priority for voters in both parties. Many Americans wrongly believed abortion and transgender policy were Democrats' leading concerns and immigration was Republicans' top issue.

"Being well-informed protects you from these mistakes."

Not automatically. As above, heavy news consumers and highly educated partisans were often the least accurate about the other side. Accurate numbers, not more commentary, are what close the gap.

How to check claims yourself

  • Look for the exact question wording, who was asked (all adults, registered voters, likely voters) and when.
  • "Has a positive view of socialism" is not the same as "is a socialist"; "leans Republican" is not the same as "is a Republican."
  • Compare several polls before trusting one number. Our guide to reading polls explains margins of error and averages.
  • Get your news from more than one direction. See how to get reliable news, and for the facts behind today's hottest arguments, the big policy debates and money in politics.

Sources

Spotted an error or a newer figure? Write to us at [email protected] and we'll correct it.

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