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CNN’s Data Guru Shows How Far-Left Is Devouring Democratic Party

[Screenshot/CNN]

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said on Thursday that the far-left has record-breaking support dating back to the 1990s from those who identify as Democrats.

The number of Democrats identifying as “far-left” has quadrupled since 1999, when only 5% of identified as such, and that number has since surged to 21% in 2026, Enten said on “CNN News Central.” Over a quarter of Democrats, 26% identified as “conservative” in 1999, while only 8% of the party self-identifies as that currently.

“You know, there used to be a lot of conservative Democrats,” Enten said. “Right back in 1999, 26% of Democrats self-identified as conservative. Just 5% said that they were very liberal. It was a smidgen, a smidgen, a smidgen. Now that far left has gained considerably in power. Look at this. Now we’re talking about a fifth of Democrats, 21% say they’re very liberal. That conservative part of the Democratic Party, adios amigos, goodbye, just 8%.”

“And when you combine the 21% who are very liberal with those who say that they’re somewhat liberal, we’re talking about three in five Democrats who identify as either somewhat liberal or very liberal with the very liberals, but much larger portion of the party, the far left, which used to just be a smidgen within the Democratic Party, has gained considerable power, as you saw in New Jersey’s 11th District,” Enten continued. 

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Thirty-three percent of all Democrats and 42% of those in the party under the age of 35 identify as Democratic Socialists.

“And more than that, if you look at Democrats under the age of 35, they are nearly half, nearly half of the Democratic Party. Look at this. Forty two percent of Democrats think of themselves as Democratic Socialists under the age of 35, just like Zohran Mamdani,” Enten said. “That, what happened in New York City, is not some aberration. Right. It is not something that just happened in New York City is something that we are seeing grow within the Democratic Party at this particular point when we’re talking about 42% of Democrats under the age of 35 identifying as Democratic Socialists and a third of all Democrats.”

A majority of all voters, 58%, in the U.S. believe the Democratic Party is too liberal, which is a big jump from the 48% who said the same in 2013 and the 42% in 1996, Enten said.

Far-left Democratic candidates have come into power in recent elections, most notably Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who won the mayoral race against former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo 50.8% to 41.3% of the vote in November. Mamdani campaigned on rent freezes, government-run buses and grocery stores, and has called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and others have held a tight grip on the Democratic Party and its policy agendas for the past several years, including calls for passing Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and defunding police. Former Vice President Kamala Harris supported many of these initiatives in the Senate, but later backtracked to appear more moderate during the 2024 presidential election cycle.