Midterms Survey: Progressive Wave Building
95% see the potential for a massive progressive wave as Our Revolution members put taking on oligarchy and corruption at the top of their agenda
With just over a month until Election Day, progressives aren’t thinking small.
A new survey of 1,500 Our Revolution members finds an extraordinary 95% are confident the Midterms can produce a massive progressive wave — with the potential to send as many as 22 new progressives to the House and six to the Senate.
That would mean more than a blue wave. It could mean the largest new cohort of progressives in Congress in years, with the potential to significantly expand the movement’s power in Washington.
But the survey also reveals something just as important: progressives have very clear ideas about what they expect Democrats to do with that power.
The #1 Demand: Take on Oligarchy and Corruption
Asked what Democrats should deliver if they win in November, 92% chose taking on oligarchs and corruption — the highest result of any governing priority tested.
And the rest of the list shows just how ambitious the progressive agenda remains:
85% — Medicare for All
84% — Abolish ICE
81% — Pause AI and data center expansion
67% — Jobs and higher wages
One of the biggest surprises is AI and data centers.
At 81%, the issue is now just four points behind Medicare for All and ranks ahead of jobs and higher wages among the priorities tested. That’s a remarkable showing for an issue that has only recently emerged as a major national political fight — and suggests that concerns about AI, Big Tech and the rapid expansion of resource-intensive data centers are becoming deeply embedded in the progressive agenda.
What is Driving Democrats to the Polls?
When asked what they believe is motivating Democratic voters this cycle, respondents put the economy and high prices at 88%, followed by stopping Trump at 85%, the Iran war at 79%, mass deportations at 69%, and electing a blue wave of fighters at 58%.
IThat could be one of the biggest political questions coming out of November: Can electoral opposition be converted into a mandate for structural change?
Talarico, El-Sayed and Jackson Are the Senate Races Progressives Are Watching
There is also a clear hierarchy in which Senate contests have captured respondents’ attention.
James Talarico leads the field, with 75% saying they’re watching his race, followed by Abdul El-Sayed at 67% and Troy Jackson at 52%. Angie Nixon follows at 41%, while Peggy Flanagan registers 29% and Charles Booker 25%.
Those numbers give us an interesting snapshot of where progressive attention is concentrated as the final stretch begins — and which candidates are emerging as national movement figures beyond their own states.
Optimism Hasn’t Erased Anger at the Establishment
The optimism is especially striking compared with where the progressive base was not long ago.
In an earlier Our Revolution survey found just 3% very confident that Democratic leadership would effectively fight Trump’s policies. Another found 92% supporting primary challenges to establishment Democrats respondents believed weren’t generating enough grassroots energy or urgency.
Now, 95% see the potential for a progressive wave.
But that doesn’t mean tensions within the party have disappeared.
Asked how they feel about establishment organizations undermining or refusing to fund some progressive candidates, 48% said angry, 26% disappointed and 23% unsurprised.
The “unsurprised” number may be particularly revealing: nearly a quarter of respondents don’t simply dislike the dynamic — they’ve come to expect it.
Progressives Are Ready to Vote.
Perhaps the most important finding for the final month isn’t ideological at all. It’s organizational.
A remarkable 75% of respondents plan to vote early, with another 8% still deciding whether they’ll vote early or on Election Day. Three-quarters also know other people planning to vote early.
Our Revolution made more than 5 million voter contacts during the primaries and is working toward another 5 million through November. The survey suggests the potential electorate is highly motivated — but turning that motivation into volunteer action remains a major opportunity in the closing stretch.
As Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese put it:
“We are hearing intense concern about prices and Trump, but also clear expectations about what happens after Election Day. If a record number of progressives enter the next Congress, they will arrive with a powerful base behind them expecting action on oligarchy and corruption, healthcare, wages and the growing power of AI.”
The survey captures a progressive base entering the final stretch with an unusual combination of confidence, impatience and ambition.
Respondents see the possibility of a major electoral wave. They are overwhelmingly planning to vote. And they aren’t simply thinking about Election Day — they’re already thinking about what comes next, what Democrats should deliver, and what a larger progressive bloc should fight for once it gets to Washington.
The opportunity is there. The next month will determine how much of it becomes reality.
When we organize, we win.
Our Revolution