In the political bubble, the label “woke” is a powerful term connected to a number of policies embraced by Progressive Democrats. In the rest of America, the term packs little emotional weight beyond being loosely identified with Democrats.
In response to an open-ended question, 38% describe being “woke” as in some sense being aware of social issues. Another 9% that it just means liberal. A Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted August 21-22, 2024 found that 30% gave some other answer for the meaning of “woke”, 10% admitted they didn’t know what it meant, and 12% had never heard of the term.
Voters are divided between those who have favorable (36%) and unfavorable (41%) opinions of a political candidate described as “woke.” Fifty-four percent (54%) of Democrats offer a favorable opinion along with just 19% of Republicans.
Despite the fact that many “woke” policies are embraced by Progressive Democrats and rejected by traditional Democrats, the differences in perceptions of a “woke” candidate are quite modest. Fifty-six percent (56%) of Progressive Democrats offer a favorable opinion of that candidate along with 43% of Traditional Democrats.
This Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on August 21-22, 2024. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc.
