Democrat Americans don’t acknowledge that three top self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist politicians are actually “Socialist,” nor do they consider Communists to be a threat, results of a new national survey of U.S. adult citizens by The Economist/YouGov reveal.“Which of the following people are socialists?” the survey conducted July 17-20 asked, instructing respondents to “Check all that apply.”Less than half of adult Democrats surveyed said that either Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani or New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are Socialists.Though he caucuses with Senate Democrats, Sen. Sanders has publicly identified as a Democratic Socialist for more than a decade. Mayor Mamdani also openly refers to himself as being a Democrat Socialist, as does Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. Both Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez are members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and caucus with Democrats in Congress.But, in the survey, under half of adult Democrats labeled Sen. Sanders (46%) and Mayor Mamdani (44%) as Socialists. In the case of Ocasio-Cortez, only a third (33%) of Democrats said they view the congresswoman as a Socialist.In contrast, two-thirds (66%) of Republicans surveyed acknowledged Sanders’ Socialist status. Nearly the same percentages identified Mamdani (63%) and Ocasio-Cortez (62%) as being SocialistsAmong all adult U.S. citizens surveyed, 55% labeled Sanders a Socialist, 51% recognized Mamdani as Socialist and 45% labeled Ocasio-Cortez a Socialist. Of the five other left-wing politicians listed, former Democrat President Barack Obama (27%) was most-often called a Socialist.The major distinction between Democratic Socialism and traditional Socialism is one of degree. With Democratic Socialism, the socialist agenda is implemented mainly via democratic elections and some private ownership for profit is allowed. In pure Socialism, authoritarianism is legitimate and major industries may be owned only by the public, cooperatives, or workers for the purpose of production.The survey also asked the following question about the threat of Communism:“How much of a threat, if any, do Communists in the United States pose today?”Again, Democrats and Republicans were deeply divided, with Democrats expressing much greater tolerance of Communism.Only 7% of Democrats rated Communists a “major threat,” compared to 34% of Republicans and 18% of all respondents. Likewise, while half (50%) of Democrats said that Communists are “not a threat,” that view was shared by only 13% of Republicans and 33% of all U.S. adult citizens. Just 29% of Democrats said they viewed Communists to be at least a “moderate threat,” compared to 64% of Republicans and 43% of all respondents.