Sanders Poll Sends Clear Message to Harris: Pro-Worker Policies Are 'Also Good Politics'

A poll commissioned by Sen. Bernie Sanders shows that an overwhelming majority of voters in key battleground states support policy goals central to the progressive agenda, bolstering the case for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris to aggressively push for higher taxes on the rich and large corporations, a federal minimum wage increase, and an expansion of Medicare and Social Security.

"Good policy for working-class voters is also good politics," Sanders (I-Vt.) said in response to the survey's findings, which include replies from 1,158 likely U.S. voters in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

"It should come as no surprise that expanding Social Security, raising the minimum wage, and capping rent increases are very popular," the senator added. "The political class would do well to listen to the clear directive of American voters, and deliver. The simple fact is: Whether you're running for the White House or a city council seat, if you stand with working people, they will stand with you."

Conducted by Data for Progress, the poll shows that Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump are locked in a dead heat in the six battleground states with three months to go before the November 5 election. A slim majority of voters across the states examined feel that neither Democrats nor Republicans "have clear solutions for the biggest issues facing the country," suggesting there's a significant opportunity for either candidate to win over voters with a concrete policy agenda thatcenters the material needs of the working class.

The survey makes clear that progressive policy objectives have widespread appeal across the political spectrum. For example, the poll shows that 71% of voters in the battleground states—including 89% of Democrats, 67% of Independents and third-party voters, and 55% of Republicans—want the wealthy to pay more in taxes, a sentiment that aligns with progressive goals and contrasts with those of Trump and the GOP.

The poll also indicates broad support for raising taxes on big, profitable corporations; expanding Social Security by "making the wealthy pay the same rate as the working class"; hiking the long-stagnant federal minimum wage; and expanding Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing benefits.

Support for more ambitious progressive agenda items, such as Medicare for All, is less solid among Republicans and Independents, according to the new survey, but still has strong backing among the Democratic base—68% of which supports transitioning to a single-payer healthcare system.

The new survey comes as Harris, who formally secured the Democratic nomination last week, is weighing her running mate pick ahead of a Tuesday rally in Philadelphia.

Progressives have openly warned Harris against selecting Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro—citing, among other concerns, his attacks on pro-Palestine demonstrators and support for school vouchers—and rallied behind Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Sanders himself, as Common Dreams reported over the weekend, praised Walz during an interview on Saturday, saying Minnesota's governor "understands the needs of working families" and would be well-positioned to "speak up and take on powerful corporate interests."

Calls for Harris to embrace a progressive agenda and choose a running mate prepared to fight for that program come amid concerns about the vice president's corporate ties and the Democratic Party's broader and longer-term failures to deliver for the working class, which is facing an increasingly dire housing crisis, slowing wage and job growth, and fears of a looming recession—all as billionaire wealth ascends to record heights.

"Progressives should insist that working people have a lot at stake in this election regardless of their skin color, nationality or ethnic heritage and that our shared class interest ought to be the basis for our political appeals," Dustin Guastella, research associate at the Center for Working-Class Politics, and The Nation president Bhaskar Sunkara wrote in an op-ed for The Guardian last week.

"The fact that this narrative—one the official Harris campaign seems at least slightly sympathetic to—was so quickly and enthusiastically overshadowed by an emphasis on identity politics says a lot about the Democratic Party's contemporary base," the pair wrote, pointing to the "White Women for Kamala" and "White Dudes for Harris" fundraising calls recently held in support of the Democratic nominee.

"The Democratic Party needs working-class voters more than ever, but unfortunately the party increasingly represents well-heeled white-collar professionals primarily concentrated in and around big cities," Guastella and Sunkara wrote. "It's these voters who crave appeals to identity over appeals to shared class grievances."

As Sanders said over the weekend, "The time is long overdue for Washington to stop worrying about the billionaires and their campaign contributors and start worrying about the needs of working families."