Capitalism more favored among Michigan voters than socialism, poll shows

The conversation of capitalism and socialism has been heating up ahead of the November midterm election, with the U.S. House adopting a resolution last month to denounce socialism.

In Michigan, new polling from Mitchell Research & Communications found that a majority of voters surveyed favor capitalism over socialism.

According to a poll commissioned by CBS News Detroit and other local outlets, 52% of voters support capitalism, compared to 26% who support socialism. When it comes to party affiliation, more Democrats support socialism (42%) than capitalism (22%), whereas Republicans strongly support capitalism (86%).

Additionally, socialism receives more support among voters aged 18-29, while voters aged 65 and older favor capitalism. African American voters support socialism more than white voters, and male voters show more support for capitalism than women.

The topic has been widely discussed in Michigan's midterm election, with Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed being labeled a socialist. However, in an interview with CBS News before the August primary, El-Sayed reiterated that he was not a socialist or a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, but said that government regulation is needed.

"I'd rather think of myself as a capitalist who's actually read about capitalism, in the sense that the biggest risk to capitalism was always going to be corporate consolidation and monopoly rather than government regulation," he said. "In fact, you need some government regulation to make sure that capitalism runs well."

Michigan Democratic voters mirror the U.S. overall: Democrats nationwide view socialism more positively than capitalism, according to a CBS News poll. That poll also found that socialism receives more positive views among Democrats with college degrees than those without. 

However, capitalism is still seen more positively than socialism.