Democrat Support Drops to Record Lows in CNN Poll for Democratic Party
Fresh Take:
The Democrat Party's popularity is hitting record lows as per the latest polls found by CNN, with its own supporters being a significant factor in the downward trend. With frustration growing towards party leaders, a majority of Democrats and Dem-leaning independents prefer stopping the Republican agenda over cooperating with the GOP for legislative breakthroughs.
The poll was carried out between March 6-9, prior to 10 Democratic senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, voting together with Republicans to push forward a GOP-authored spending bill to avert a government shutdown. This move sparked disappointment among fellow Dem lawmakers and critics.
In contrast to the current landscape, a September 2017 poll demonstrated a broader 74% majority of Dems and Dem-leaners advocating for collaborating with the GOP to advance their priorities, while only 23% pushed for a more contentious approach.
The poll also unveiled that a majority of Dem-aligned adults (52% to 48%) believe the party's leadership is leading it astray. This is a stark difference from eight years ago, when opinions on this metric were generally positive.
Americans view the Democratic Party favorably at just 29%, a historic low based on CNN's polling dating back to 1992, and a drop of 20 points since January 2021 when Trump exited his first term following the January 6 Capitol attack. The Republican Party's rating stands slightly higher at 36%.
This negative sentiment is mainly due to dissatisfaction within the Democratic Party. While 63% of Democrats and Dem-leaning independents hold a positive view of their party, it represents a dip from 72% in January and 81% at the beginning of President Joe Biden’s term. The dip is consistent across both liberals and moderates.
On the other hand, 79% of Republicans and Republican leaners presently view the GOP positively. Political independents express dim views of both parties, with only 19% rating the Dems favorably and 20% holding a positive opinion of the GOP.
Both Dems and Republicans are viewed as extreme by around half the public, with the GOP positioned more as mainstream compared to 2022 when most Americans considered the Dems mainstream.
Independents see the Republicans as more out of touch (57% calling the GOP too extreme) compared to the Democrats (48%). However, 16% of Dems believe their party is too extreme, while just 9% of Republicans feel the same about the GOP.
Respondents continue to differentiate between Trump and his party. Americans are 9 points more likely to consider Trump too extreme than to say the same of the Republican Party as a whole, although this gap has reduced from 18 points in 2022.
Democrats, who overwhelmingly consider Trump too extreme, have yet to coalesce around a single leader to counterbalance him. When asked to name the Democratic leader who "best reflects the core values" of the party, 10% of Dem-aligned adults mention Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 9% former Vice President Kamala Harris, 8% Senator Bernie Sanders, and 6% House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The rest of the responses, including former President Obama, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, earned less than 5%.
More than 30% didn't offer a response, with one individual stating, "No one, that's the problem.” Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin remains relatively unknown, with nearly three-quarters of Americans either unaware of her or having no opinion about her.
Ocasio Cortez enjoys high popularity among liberals and young adults, with around 16% in each group regarding her as emblematic of the party's values. None of the other leaders polled reached double-digit results among older adults or moderates on this metric.
Dem-aligned adults' views on their party and leadership split along demographic lines. While Dems are more likely than independent Dem-leaners to express favorable opinions of the party (72% to 37%) and to believe its leaders are heading in the right direction (53% to 34%), the gap is more prominent among demographic groups: women (57%), people of color (57%), and non-college degree holders (60%) have a higher affinity towards the party, compared to men (38%) and White college graduates (32%).
Lastly, while the majority of Dem-aligned individuals want their party to oppose the Republican agenda, moderates are the only remaining Dem-aligned group that slightly favors collaboration (51% to 48%).
- The Democratic Party appears to be struggling to consolidate its support, as evidenced by a recent metric that showed 52% of Democrat-aligned adults believing the party's leadership is leading them astray.
- In a contrasting 2017 review, a broader 74% majority of Democrats and Dem-leaners advocated for collaborating with the Republican Party to advance their priorities.
- The latest poll reviews revealed a sharp decline in the Democratic Party's popularity, with Americans viewing it favorably at just 29%, a historic low based on CNN's polling dating back to 1992.
