Top Dem pollster’s elex alert

‘Defund cops’ is a loser

Democrats should stop pressing “defund the police” and other hot-button social issues if they want to stay competitive in 2022, according to new research from longtime Democratic pollster Douglas Schoen.

“The data says to me that if the Democrats go the progressive route, they can lose the House and the Senate overwhelmingly in 2022,” Schoen told The Post.

“The incoming Biden administration has to understand that unless they take a moderate path, that is a likely potential outcome for the Democrats.”

Schoen is a longtime pollster for former Mayor Mike Bloomberg and worked on the billionaire’s presidential campaign.

His firm, Schoen Cooperman Research, spoke to 1,000 respondents between Nov. 8 and Nov. 9 for a post-election poll.

Asked whether Joe Biden’s victory was a “mandate” for “centrist policies” or “progressive policies,” 62 percent said centrist, while just 28 percent said progressive.

The survey also found that the party was hurt in downballot races by the “defund the police” movement championed by progressives.

A total of 35 percent of voters polled said the issue made them “less likely to vote for Democrats,” while 23 percent said it made them more likely. “The hardcore activists, they like AOC,” Schoen said, referring to Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (inset) of The Bronx/Queens. “The rest of the country outside of hardcore party activists are not so keen on AOC or her agenda.”

“The question for the Democrats is how to keep the progressives on the reservation without fracturing the party.”