If you want to get elected, don’t let anyone call you “woke.”

The list of labels voters don’t like is long — including “MAGA” and “election denier” — so political name-callers have a lot to choose from.

On the other hand, you might welcome the labels “moderate,” “independent,” or — somewhat surprisingly — “conservative.”

According to a new national poll conducted by HarrisX for Deseret News, if a candidate is labeled “woke,” voters are less likely to support her or him. These results run contrary to a recent national debate over the word “woke,” after a USA TODAY/Ipsos poll found people favored a more positive definition of the word, leaving many saying Republican use of the term is backfiring.

“The GOP blew it by calling everything woke,” a recent Daily Beast headline read. The USA TODAY headline read, “A GOP war on ‘woke’? Most Americans view the term as a positive ... .”

But while people may favor a more positive definition of the term woke, it appears to be a net negative in the voting booth.

“Woke” loses votes

Of the people who responded to the poll, 24% say they are more likely to vote for a candidate described as “woke,” while 49% say less likely. Among independent voters, 46% say they are less likely to vote for a “woke” candidate, while 24% say it makes them more likely.

The word “woke” is particularly unpopular for older voters — 56% of voters in the 50-64-year-old age bracket say they are less likely to vote for a candidate described as woke, while that goes up to 73% for voters over age 65.

From “MAGA” to “radical”

On the political right, there are labels candidates should want to avoid if they hope to be elected — including “MAGA” and “election denier.” Among voters, 45% say they’re less likely to vote for a candidate labeled “MAGA,” compared to 33% who say they’re more likely; while 53% say they’re less likely to vote for an “election denier,” compared to 20% who say more likely.

The terms that make voters less likely to support a candidate include (listed in order from less damaging to more damaging): right wing, Christian nationalist, liberal, maverick, nationalist, globalist, populist, left wing, old, socialist, low energy, radical, Marxist, fascist, and erratic.

What labels do voters like?

What labels should a candidate embrace? The list is a lot smaller: Moderate, independent or conservative.

“Political labeling is an art and a science, and tells you a lot about what voters want in the next election,” said Dritan Nesho, CEO of HarrisX. “Today the most effective labels in the political universe are “moderate” and “independent,” providing a net lift of 27% and 23% in terms of likelihood of voters to pick a candidate described this way.”

Democrats are more likely to say they would support a candidate labeled “moderate” — 58% — than “liberal,” at 54%.

For Republican voters, the most favored label was “conservative,” which at 70% ranked far above any of the other terms. Meanwhile, 50% of GOP voters say they’re more likely to vote for a candidate labeled “moderate.”

The Deseret News/Harris X poll found the word “conservative” provided a lift among all voters, with 48% saying they were more likely to support a candidate described this way, and 30% saying it would make them less likely to vote for a candidate. Although, among the important independent vote, that split was much closer, with 39% saying more likely and 35% less likely.

Legitimate or divisive?

In general, voters found political name-calling divisive, rather than helpful.

When asked whether candidates use terms to raise legitimate concerns or if they’re trying to be divisive for political purposes, the terms most likely to receive the “divisive” label include fascist, MAGA, radical, Marxist, left wing and socialist.

But those labels are also among those that affect whether voters will support a candidate or not, which is probably why they’re likely to be used even if seen as divisive.

Which label applies to Democrats? To Republicans?

When asked what labels voters associate with Democrats, respondents chose liberal, left wing, woke, socialist and radical.

When asked what labels they associate with Republicans, respondents chose conservative, MAGA, right wing, Christian nationalist and election denier.

The Deseret News/HarrisX poll was conducted on March 8 and 9, among 921 registered voters, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

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