Democratic voters are deeply pessimistic about the future of their party, as lawmakers remain tirelessly criticized for what constituents see as a lack of strong opposition to the Trump administration.
The new trend comes from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. The study surveyed 1,175 adults between May 1-5 using the AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
According to the study, only about one-third of Democrats are "very optimistic" or even "somewhat optimistic" about their party's future. That's down sharply from July 2024, when about 6 in 10 Democrats had a positive outlook.
By comparison, Republicans are only slightly more optimistic about the future of their party than they were last year. The poll found about half of Republicans, 55%, are very or somewhat optimistic about their party's future, up from 47% last year. Nevertheless, only about 3 in 10 Republicans are optimistic about the state of U.S. politics, up from about 1 in 10 last summer.
Because of this, neither party is seemingly popular, with only about 4 in 10 adults having a favorable view of the Republican Party and only about one-third have a positive view of the Democratic Party.
Likewise, Democrats unpopularity is having some ripple effects in the popularity of some of their most prominent voices. For instance, the AP explains that roughly 4 in 10 Americans have a favorable view of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, while about half of Democrats have a favorable view of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Even more unpopular is New York Senator and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has drawn criticism for backing a GOP spending bill to keep the government open, after he declared he would do the exact opposite.
According to the poll, the share of Democrats who view Schumer positively has fallen since December 2024, when about half had a somewhat or very favorable view. Now, his favorability stands at 21% among all adults.
The numbers indicated by the polls don't necessarily come as a surprise. Since the 2024 general elections, Democrats have been criticized for seemingly lacking a leader, and a coherent message, to drive the party forward and increase their appeal among working class voters.
In a February New York Times report, Democrats in private meetings and public events were described as "leaderless, rudderless and divided." That report explained that elected officials continuously disagreed over how often and strongly to oppose President Trump, as well as what message should be their priority looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections.
"The policies that we support and the message that we have is not wrong," said Democrat National Committee Chair Ken Martin after his victory earlier this year. "It is a messaging problem and a brand problem. Those voters are not connecting our policies with their lives."
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