2020 was socialists' most successful election year ever, report finds

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Socialism, 'Squad' targeted by newly elected House lawmakers

Congresswoman-elect Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., Congresswoman-elect Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., and Congressman-elect Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., fight to protect free markets and the economy.

Far-left progressives and socialists gained “significant” ground in the 2020 election compared to the midterms, according to the findings of a report from the Heartland Institute.

The analysis, “Socialist Watch,” conducted by researchers for the Illinois-based think tank’s Stopping Socialism project, evaluated 266 races in 29 states, plus Washington, D.C. It tracked 200 state races, 60 U.S. House seats, and six U.S. Senate seats.

People vote at a polling place on Election Day, in Las Vegas.  (AP)

The seats the researchers tracked were endorsed by three leftist or socialist groups: “Democratic Socialists of America,” “Progressive Democrats of America,” and “Our Revolution,” a nonprofit organization that advocates for the policies of Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Uncontested races aside, “socialist or far-left progressive candidates won by an average of more than 25 percentage points, indicating clearly socialist and progressive groups targeted during the primaries districts that they knew Democrats would win the general election,” the report from the conservative think tank states.

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Of the 266 far-left or socialist candidates evaluated in the races, nearly 90% won according to the report’s findings.

The greatest number were elected to Connecticut’s state legislature, at 38, followed by New York, 23, Illinois, 22, Minnesota, 21, and California, 19.

A similar analysis from the Heartland Institute, a conservative and libertarian public policy think tank, found that, uncontested races aside, “socialist candidates received on average 49 percent of the vote.”

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A 2019 Gallup Poll found that 39% of Americans have a favorable opinion of socialism – up from about 20% in 2010; 57% view it negatively.