How Do Progressives stack up?
Given the orange stained GOP and the pro-corporate stain of the mainstream Dems, I am stuck with looking at the progressives. I discovered it is NOT communism despite the orange menace’s assertions.
I support about 30–40% of the Progressive agenda. But some of their agenda is just nuts! Still they are far better than the mainline Democrats who are in the elite’s pockets and the orange stained GOP.
Let’s face it, the GOP is going to have a huge orange stain tarnishing them for years to come. And Democrats too are hampered by their butt-kissing when it comes to corporations and the elite. They are just as bad as the Republicons in making inequality worse. The GOP cowards’ recent kowtowing to the orange diaper king has led us close to the prospect of establishing an authoritarian dictatorship, suppressing voters who Trump says are too dumb to be allowed to vote. Progressives are the only hope for this formerly great nation (and probably never will be great again, more on that below).
I suspect, given the divisiveness in this country, the USA is headed for a breakup, balkanization where the west coast takes their rich economies and goes their own way. The south sinks into 3rd world status and the NE goes it’s own mildly liberal way too. The mid-west kind of hangs on, barely. Gun-toting Americans lead to high murder rates with media providing daily death counts by state as hard-right & hard-left start shooting at each other, unable to even spell compromise, let alone consider it.
The hard-nosed know-it-all hard right & left (both of who are interestingly perpetual losers in almost everything they touch just like tRump) are tired of compromising. Compromise is what made America work for 250 years. Now it is out the window. The low education MAGAts never did like compromise, desperately hating anyone of color and not able to understand science, progress, growth, economics or anything else beyond their 6th grade educations. They prefer to stagnate, turning life back to the 1950s and let the pandemics run wild to control the population.
Trump himself lives in the 1970s when fossil fuels ruled the earth (he must love the smell of smog and looking at polluted rivers!). Speaking of the diaper king, Trump’s predilection for turning everything he touches into s**t is approaching legendary status.
Recent studies have found the GOP states have far higher rates of bankruptcies, healthcare problems, hunger, and homelessness. Their life expectancy is lower than blue states (age ~72 compared to ~79 in blue states, Source 1, Source 2). A June 2026 federal report published by CNN Politics highlighted that residents in Democratic-held U.S. House districts live an average of 79.5 years, compared to 72.7 years in Republican-held districts. Nearly 70% of Democratic districts sit above the national average for lifespan, while over 75% of Republican districts fall below the average. [Source 1]
As for progressive candidates, I have complied the following information about some candidates that might be viewed as at least moderately progressive. I tried to include their age and support/rejection scores from US News & World Report as well as anything I could find on their positions and a bit of their history where available. I also lay out what I support and which agendas I oppose. It is a bit personal, but it might help clarify the progressive’s policies for you. Percentages of support come from various articles and polls I have gathered. I’ll try to provide sources where I can.
First some definitions.
Progressivism is NOT socialism!
Socialism promotes government control of everything and no real wealth in anyone person’s hands. “Equality” in the goal. Yet socialism has been impossible to implement and has failed consistently in attempts to implement it. Mixed social-capitalist agendas seem to do better, taking the best of each to make for a balanced society where individualism is valued yet no one is left behind and wealth is still accruable. See the Scandinavian countries for good examples where, despite tax rates as high as 55%, people are the rated the happiest in the world according to polls and bankruptcies are low or non-existent (especially medical debt bankruptcies) and everyone qualifies for health care.
Economic progressivism is based on the idea that capitalist markets left to operate with limited government regulation are inherently unfair, favoring big business, large corporations and the wealthy. Progressives believe that a fair market should result in a normal distribution of wealth.
Socialist platform — Medicare-for-all and higher taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals — enjoy majority support (79% in most polls). A historic Reuters/Ipsos survey noted that 85% of Democrats supported a single-payer system, while 69% of Republicans expressed support (source).
Social-Capitalism promotes individualism, accrual of wealth, independent businesses, etc. Yet it also promotes basic rights for the bottom of society — healthcare, food, and housing. It regulates greedy corporations preventing over-pricing and making most things affordale or at least attainable to most of society. You don’t see medical bankrutpcy like what is rapidly rising in the US. Crime in the Scandinavian countries is quite low as everyone has the basics and are not starving or homeless, which drives a lot of crime in the world.
Other progressive ideals don’t have even close to that kind of public support. Such as advocating government ownership of much of the economy, including food, education, energy, medicine and transportation. Americans wouldn’t have landlords or mortgages because “comfortable housing is a human right” is just a crazy idea with less than 27% in support by the same Reuters/Ipsos poll.
What AI says: Public support for single-payer healthcare changes dramatically depending on how the question is framed. Polls that describe Medicare-for-All as a universal program or an expansion of Medicare often find majority support (ranging from 65% to 80% of all respondents). However, support drops significantly — often below 45% — when pollsters explicitly state that private health insurance would be eliminated or replaced with a strict government-run plan. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Some candidates such as JB Pritzker support highly regulated private insurance and government supplemented public options instead of healthcare-for-all. Unfortunately these do not promise to make healthcare for everyone available as Obama’s flawed ACA demonstrated, often still unaffordable to many Americans.
A majority of Americans support government-covered (or “free”) college tuition (roughly 55%) and government-backed public housing (roughly 57%) [source 1]. Supplemented, NOT rent-free.
Strong majorities favor higher taxes on corporations and billionaires, with particular emphasis from progressive and Democratic voters [source 1]. Many Americans support a 2–3% higher tax on those making more than $2 million and 4–7% on billionaires. In other words, some wealth is ok, but acquiring a billion dollars is grossly unfair and cheats the lowest classes of a right to basic survival — food, housing and healthcare in our supposedly “advanced” society. FDR proposed these things in his failed Second Bill of Rights that never took off.
Fortunately, his other basic rights, that lifted society from the bottom up, led to the great golden age that we all enjoyed and benefited from in the US and the world from the 1930s to the 1970s. Republicons have been trying to undermine his New Deal ever since — resulting in repeated recessions, debt and inequality. It is the Republican way as they want austerity for the middle and lower classes while the wealthy lord it over society.
Here are some socialist/progressive ideals I support and oppose.
Ideals I support:
- Provide a path to citizenship for all permanent residents, and end visa caps and quotas.
- Healthcare-for-all (NOT public & private “options” that favor the wealthy and still deny benefits to some, sorry Pritzker & Beshear).
- Housing assistance for the poor (to some degree).
- Promote temporary immigration for supporting the farms, meat industry, restaurants, and other service industries (robots aren’t there yet).
- Free publicly funded college education (yes higher taxes).
- Worker rights and return to unionization, i.e. anti-oligarch control of workers who gained less than 10% income vs 900% for oligarchs over the past 50–60 years.
- Higher taxes on the wealthy. 2% on net worth of $50M and 3% on $1B and higher taxes on anyone making more than $2M a year. 2–3% higher taxes for those making more than $2M and 5–7% for those making more than $1B a year. Let them carry the bottom part of society who is too weak mentally or handicapped or old to make more. A return to FDR’s incredibly successful socialist agenda that led to the golden age vs the GOP’s perpetual austerity agenda that promotes inequality.
- More EPA regulations on polluters and regulations on corporations who cannot be trusted to do the right thing.
- More emphasis on the future like green renewables vs the dying fossil fuel industry.
Socialist ideals I oppose:
- Redirect police funding to public services as steps towards fully abolishing the police and prison system”.
- Defund the Department of War . . . End all foreign wars and close overseas military bases.
- Replace the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.
- Abolish the Senate and president’s office leaving a “people’s commission” in charge (Chaos! As seen in many democracies and people’s tendency to argue incessantly, still, the majority must rule).
- Legalize all immigrants and allow uninhibited migrations. .
My take on Progressive Candidate Profiles
(Name, Age, Positive/Negative opinion per US News & World Report, etc.)
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Elizabeth Warren age 77, (40/34) has represented Massachusetts in the Senate since 2013 and was a candidate for president in the 2020 Democratic primary election. She stands for economic populism, progressive structural reform, and holding big corporations and wealthy individuals accountable. She has pushed for stricter banking regulations and launched the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2010. A progressive, Warren advocates for reducing student loan debt, free college tuition, higher taxes on large corporations and the wealthy, improved regulation of big tech companies, and promotes workers’ rights. Supports lowering costs for working families. Supporting the elderly and handicapped with more generous Social Security and Medicaid. She supports Medicare-for-all, green energy, social & civil rights and criminal justice reform. Advocates for an ultra-millionaire tax (a 2% tax on net worth over $50 million and 3% over $1 billion) and higher taxes on corporate profits.
Andy Beshear Age 48, 38/24, Democratic KY Gov in heavily red state, strong Christian, strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act and a vocal proponent for expanding healthcare access, having actively championed Medicaid expansion in Kentucky. He famously rescinded his predecessor’s proposed Medicaid work requirements and fully funded expanded Medicaid to protect coverage for Kentuckians. He relaunched kynect, Kentucky’s state-based health insurance marketplace, to help residents buy subsidized private plans. He does NOT support Medicare-for-all preferring a mix of public and private options. Medical Debt Forgiveness: In September 2026, Beshear established a state Medical Debt Relief Program using $2.5 million in state funds to purchase and wipe out up to $250 million in medical debt for over 130,000 residents.
Pro-education, pro-union, pro-business, and pro-green energy. Pro-abortion, restore voting rights to ex-cons, reduce incarceration rates, go lighter on drug offenses, climate change, pro-immigration, pro-LGBTQ. Beshear supports a pragmatic, faith-based approach to governance — work for the poor as Jesus did. Champions public school funding, universal pre-K access, and better pay for educators. Signed an executive order restoring voting rights to more than 194,000 nonviolent offenders who have completed their sentences. Operates as a Democrat in a heavily Republican state by emphasizing bipartisan economic wins, disaster relief, and practical public health measures. Presides over record-low unemployment rates and budget surpluses while supporting targeted tax cuts and capping the price of insulin
JB Pritzker: Age 61, 42/17, Gov IL, supports balanced budgets having cleaned up the GOP caused financial quagmire in Illinois. Supports min wage of $15/hr, infrastructure upgrades, reproductive freedom, gun control, criminal justice reform, public funding of education, paid leave for workers, clean energy. Prefers public option healthcare, heavily regulated pvt insur., & expanded Medicaid. Net worth $4.2B, part owner of Hyatt. Pritzker is a member of the Pritzker family, a Jewish family of Ukrainian descent. Father died age 39 of heart attack in 1972. Born in CA, raised in IL by uncle. Attended boarding school, graduated from Duke Univ. Earned Law PHD. Helped create 15k jobs through a venture capital firm. Very active in philanthropy. He established a state-run Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace to increase subsidized insurance options and pushes Medicaid for the poor and heavily regulated private options.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Age 30, 25/20, Big on “green deal” promoting energy transition to green tech. Pro single-payer Medicare-for-All, tuition-free public college and trade schools, the cancellation of all $1.6 trillion of outstanding student debt, guaranteed family leave, abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ending the privatization of prisons and tax increases on the ultra-wealthy. Says she favors policies that “most closely resemble what we see in the UK, Norway, Finland, and Sweden”, not those in the “Soviet Union, Cuba, Venezuela”. Ocasio-Cortez has rejected state socialism, calling it “undemocratic” and “easily corrupted”, but has expressed support for unionization. Strong on climate change.
Amy Klobuchar Age 66, 26/22 became the first woman to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate when she began serving in 2007. She also ran for president in the 2020 Democratic primary elections. She has a strong track record of sponsoring bills that were successfully turned into laws during her time in the 114th Congress. Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Universal Health Care, pro Climate & environment, Military supporter, jobs, economy, civil rights, seniors, Families, children, education, consumer protection. Very anti-corporate.
Ro Khanna, age 39, 39/17 Khanna was born in Philadelphia to Indian parents. A self-described “progressive capitalist”, pro economic reforms, anti-corruption measures, and a focus on technology and job creation, reducing corporate influence in politics, emphasizing a “new economic patriotism.” Wrote Internet Bill of Rights. Supports Medicare-for-All, $10 a Day Childcare for All, and abolishing monopolies on pharmaceuticals. A supporter of a more non-interventionist foreign policy, avoid intervention. Khanna has also been a vocal advocate of abolishing the filibuster and passing voting rights legislation. Khanna has led a bill to limit the terms of Supreme Court justices. Khanna has called for a “new economic patriotism” as a governing philosophy. BA in economics he is for Economic justice, tech accountability, and strengthening American manufacturing. He serves on key committees and is widely recognized for bridging progressive priorities with practical legislative strategy. Anti big corp. Anti-oil. Medicare for All. Climate chg. Bill to force all fed agencies to modernize internet/websites and use tech.
Jasmine Felicia Crockett, age 44, 35/11, Pro jobs, economy, anti-tariffs, housing, voting rights, single-payer healthcare (Medicare-for-all), pro-Ukraine, owns a firearm and is licensed to carry, though supports a ban on assault weapons. Extremely anti-Trump! Tough, smart, confrontational, and clear-talking.
Zohran Mamdani, Age 34, 42/22, Mayor NYC, Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, but natural born citizen in NYC. Came to US Age 5, Democratic socialist, corporate tax increases and for those earning above $1 million (2% increase), universal childcare, affordable housing, critic of Israel & dictatorships in Venezuela and Cuba, Green advocate. Opposition to wealth inequality & racism. Supports healthcare-for-all. Pro-immigrant, climate change, Supports solar and wind energy. Mamdani said that if Russian president Vladimir Putin visited New York, he would order Putin’s arrest. Trying to find a way to work with Trump.
Cory Booker age 57, 31/30, became the U.S. senator from New Jersey in 2013, after serving as mayor of Newark from 2006–2013. Deficit reduction, combat climate change, and increased funding for education, ending the war on drugs and the legalization of cannabis, “ACA imperfect”, pro single-payer health care plan — need Medicare for all, When Cory Booker became Mayor of Newark, NJ in 2006, he faced a $180 million budget crisis. When he left his office in 2013, he left with a balanced budget for the first time in a decade, twice as much affordable housing, $150 million educational complex in the heart of Newark’s downtown.
Possibly too connected to corp. interests. He supports lowering corporate taxes. Climate change advocate. Pro animal welfare. Booker has been a prominent advocate for changing the way convicted felons are sentenced and how they are treated upon release. Pro Ban the Box. Booker supports statehood for the District of Columbia. Pro baby bonds almost entirely close the racial wealth gap among young people. Pro-gun ownership. opposed all cuts to Social Security and would expand the program. Anti-China, anti-Iran, anti-Russia. Pro-Israel — voted for all weapons shipments.
Mark Kelley age 62, (?/?) Centrist, Arizona Senator, ex-astronaut, encouraged military to disobey illegal orders, strict border controls, wants immigration changes to control it, pro-abortion, reduce tax breaks, opposes Medicare-for-all pro ACA expansion public health insurance. Reduce Rx costs for seniors.
Gavin Newsom, age 58, 30/33, constantly mocking Trump, wants to change to centrist from liberal, Gavin Newsom is a prominent progressive Democrat whose platform blends staunch social liberalism, aggressive climate action, and ambitious economic policies, though he frequently applies pragmatic or moderate approaches to fiscal management and public safety. LGBTQ+ rights, universal healthcare access, and reproductive freedom, gun control, clean energy, labor rights, higher wealth taxes, pro-business, pro-housing aid, pro-immigration.
Josh Shapiro age 53, (?/?) PA Gov, moderate-to-progressive, Jewish, economic growth, pro-abortion, fierce pro-voting rights, He supports automatic voter registration, no-excuse mail-in voting, and expanding early voting access. Reform law enforcement, pro-gun control, Touts a pro-growth, pro-worker stance. Favors lowering the corporate net income tax & closing tax loopholes, supports organized labor, raising the minimum wage, and implementing worker protections.
Kamala Harris age 61, 28/32, lost to Trump, moderate, pro-abortion, opposes death penalty, reduce recidivism, anti-electoral college, pro-gun control, strong border controls, tough on immigration, pro-net neutrality, pro-LGBTQ, pro-mail-in voting, “more needs to be done to equalize society”. Pro-consumer protections. Supports Medicare-for-all. Pro-housing, pro-labor. Remove tax cuts for wealthy. Milqtoast candidate often unimpressive.
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, age 68, 22/22, served as mayor of Richmond, Virginia, and was 70th governor of the state, before joining Congress in 2012. During his career as a politician, he has pushed for affordable health care, smart defense strategy, benefits for veterans, and job-training programs for students.
Pete Buttigieg 25/19, centrist, pro-labor unions, anti-NAFTA, pro-infrastructure — wants $1T to create 6 M jobs, green energy, climate advocate, abolish electoral college, block gerrymandering, pro-DC statehood, pro LGBTQ. Strong anti-Trump, anti-AI/robots, pro-consumer protections, pro-education/free childcare, anti-free college, pro-Medicare-for-All, pro-immigration, pro-Supreme Court reform.
Robert Reich, is too old at 80, 23/8, who was the secretary of labor for four years until 1997, was named by Time magazine as one of the “top 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the 20th century.” He is known for enacting the Family and Medical Leave Act, pushing for a boost in the minimum wage, and providing laid-off workers with access to training programs. Pro Medicare-for-All.
Patrick Kennedy age 59, 24/16, represented the 1st congressional district of Rhode Island in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995–2011. Kennedy sponsored a variety of bills related to mental health, including the successfully passed Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. He also co-founded the Congressional Down Syndrome caucus. Born 1967, son of Senator Ted Kennedy.
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, age 58, 25/10, who used to represent the state’s 8th district in the House of Representatives, is the first woman in the U.S. Senate to give birth while holding office and the legislature’s first woman with a physical disability (lost her legs in Iraq). She has advocated for strong immigration reform and affordable health care. No nonsense politician often hammers moderate Democrats almost as much as Trumpists and GOP.
Joaquin Castro, age 52, 25/20, has represented the 20th congressional district of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013. The twin brother of former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, he has helped provide millions of dollars in funding for education and critical health care programs. He has also proposed legislation related to teen pregnancy, mental health initiatives, and juvenile justice.
Julián Castro, age 52, 27/24, former mayor of San Antonio, and twin brother of Joaquin Castro, was the secretary of housing and urban development during the second half of President Barack Obama’s presidency. He has helped reduce veteran homelessness, provided greater access to the internet for residents in public housing facilities, and worked to increase the housing affordability.
Joseph P. Kennedy III, age 46,28/17, has represented Massachusetts’ 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013. A member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Kennedy has helped provide underserved students with greater access to STEM education; strengthen community health centers; offer more legal services to low-income families; and expand Medicaid coverage.
Al Franken age 75, 29/27, represented Minnesota in the U.S. Senate from 2009–2018, then resigned after several people made allegations of sexual misconduct against him. He introduced a provision to the 2010 health care overhaul that forced health insurance companies to devote a minimum of 80% of premiums to medical care, rather than marketing, executive salaries or profits. He also helped reform credit rating agencies after the 2008 financial meltdown.
Ilhan Omar, age 44, 30/30, has represented Minnesota’s 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019, after serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives for two years. She is known for being the first woman to cover her hair with a hijab on the floor of the House. She has pushed for progressive policies, like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.
Beto O’Rourke, age 54, 28/31, represented the 16th congressional district, that includes El Paso, Texas, in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013–2019. He made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in the 2020 Democratic primary election and for Ted Cruz’s U.S. Senate seat in 2018 — a run in which he earned the most votes ever cast for a Democrat in the history of Texas. pro LGBT rights and drug liberalization
So, there are some of the prominent progressives. I find most have something I disagree with. Feel free to add your views and comments. Given the orange-stained GOP and dysfunctional mainstream Democrats (both of whom pander to the wealthy and promote inequality), I do not see much choice except to go with a progressive and keep them limited to 3–4 things to change. Voters got the shake-up they were seeking with Trump, just not as they had hoped. Instead, they got a gilded, grifting con man. Time to try again. Sigh.
But given the divisiveness, I do not hold out much hope for this country to survive in it’s current form, but instead as a bunch of smaller, weaker, more irrelevant entities (except for a wealthy west coast nation). The south will be a weak third world country that might have nukes with GOP driven poverty & harsh authoritarian rule.
For now, we can push back the darkness a bit by voting blue this November and again in 2028. Then we will see what comes next. At the very least, we can hope the orange nightmare is ending and we can begin repairs, even if all we get is more of the Democrat’s BS and pro-corp inequality. I am hoping some progressive steps up in the mold of FDR and takes steps to rebuild this once great country without getting too crazy over the socialist agenda.
Despite the lack of enthusiasm for healthcare-for-all, I am leaning toward Andy Beshear or JB Pritzker. If Americans were not so misogynistic and racist, I would support Jasmine Crocket or even AOC. Whoever it is, at least we can all agree that the orange nightmare is finally over.
Who do you like in the above list or someone I did not cover?
