New Poll Reveals Which Politicians Democrats Prefer Over Santa Claus

Democrats favor Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Kamala Harris over both a selection of other prominent Democrats and even Santa Claus, according to a JL Partners poll for the Daily Mail released Sunday.

St. Nick received a net favorability rating of 59 percent, compared to a net favorability of 65 for Sanders, a two-time presidential candidate who campaigned on free health care and free college, the Daily Mail reported. Former Vice President Harris scored a 62 percent net favorability rating. The poll was conducted among 383 Democratic primary voters between Dec. 17 and 19, and has a 5 percent margin of error.

Other potential 2028 Democratic presidential primary candidates in the poll include Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has a 46 percent net favorability. Below her are Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz with a 40 percent net favorability rating and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had a 37 percent net favorability rating.

Democratic Governors J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Wes Moore of Maryland, in addition to former Democratic Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, trailed lower in the poll, with none scoring a net favorability above 23 percent.

The poll also counted respondents who were ready to ditch Christmas traditions like sweaters (22 percent), Elf on a Shelf (15 percent), and matching family pajamas (14 percent). It also found that only 37 percent consider “Die Hard” a Christmas movie.

Democrats’ overall favorability plummeted to 29 percent, according to a CNN poll released in March 2025, as the party faces infighting and difficulty meeting fundraising goals. A July poll conducted by Quinnipiac shows only 19 percent of respondents approved of the party’s Congressional leadership. A poll released Thursday by the center-left think tank Third Way found congressional Republicans have a slight edge in favorability over their Democratic colleagues, 42-40 percent.