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Over the course of the 2020 presidential election, conservatives have regularly hit their progressive counterparts for being too far to the left. While many Democrat candidates favor what they view as bold change, certain Americans view their desired change as radical. Now, while most of this criticism comes from Republicans, the right-wing isn't the only group to take issues with Democrats' policies. A new survey conducted by Hill-HarrisX affirmed that almost half of Independents view the Democrat Party as too extreme. This is very interesting, considering that Independents are a relevant voter block with the power to sway elections.

Reviewing the Independent Assessment of the Democrat Party

While 48% of Independents perceive the Democrat Party as too far left, only 33% of Independents think the Republican Party is too far right. Only 20% of Democrats believe that their party is too far left; while 68% of Republicans view the Democrat Party as radical. The data from the aforementioned survey also comes near the time of the second primary debates. During these debates, progressives and moderates battled one another over the most effective direction to take the Democrat Party. Many moderates have echoed concerns of the 48% of Independents and presumably fall into the 1/5th of Democrats who view the party as too radical. On this week's debate stages, moderate candidates stated that going too far left will help Trump win 2020. Furthermore, the policies which faced the most censure from moderates included the Green New Deal, Medicare-for-All, and decriminalizing illegal immigration. Progressives, by contrast, pushed back against moderate critics, claiming that bold reform is imperative for the American people. Candidates who lean further to the left than moderates also stated that their bold reform will energize the nation to vote against President Trump. Approximately 40% of voters are Independent.

The Face of the Democrat Party

Progressives are the collective representation of the Democrat Party. This is evident both in House caucus members and 2020 presidential candidates. Moreover, progressives such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are doing well in polls. Interestingly enough, frontrunner Joe Biden is the only moderate candidate with a substantial lead over his competition.