Evizda

Lending credence to the momentum behind Bernie Sanders’ grassroots campaign, a poll (pdf) released on Monday finds that Democratic primary voters prefer socialism to capitalism by a wide margin. Nearly two-thirds of those polled also believed that socialism has a beneficial impact on society.

The right-wing group American Action Network, funded by a Super PAC that supports House Republicans, conducted the poll. The conservative organization, among others, feigned surprise regarding its findings:

One might argue that the poll was intended to underscore how, as one conservative Super PAC official noted, far left Democratic voters have moved.

The poll was careful to avoid mention of the current election—and the candidate who is running as a “democratic socialist”—focusing instead on the differences between ideologies. “Which of the following statements do you agree with most?” the poll question was phrased, and went on to define the two systems.