I wonder how much that fear got exploited anyone though, and if there was any more mileage in it? I men the numbers have already broken quite heavily.
If whatever candidate you put forward oses votes on account of them being called a socialist, you may as well get the uptick of hving a socialist who can actually motivate your own side a bit more. Or so the theory may go, crass though it is.
It won't work on everyone who is afraid of socialism, because they'll see Biden isn't a socialist. Not everyone is susceptible to Trump's nonsense to the same degree.
Put an actual socialist there though and watch the fireworks.
Socialism, rightly or wrongly, is a dirty word in the US, even more than it is in the UK. Both countries lean right by default.

