CNN Poll Finds Democratic Party’s Approval Rating At Record Low

The Democratic Party has dropped to a new record low among Americans, reaching only a 29% favorability rating, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

In the CNN/SSRS poll conducted from March 6-9, 1,206 respondents were asked about their views on both the Republican and Democratic parties, with a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.3 for total respondents. The data shows that Democratic favorability has been on a decline, dropping a staggering 20 points since January 2021.

The Democratic Party’s current favorability rating reached a record low, according to CNN polling dating back to 1992. The disapproval of Democrats is notably coming from within the party, with only 63% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents approving of the party, a nine-point drop from January and an 18-point drop since the beginning of the Biden-Harris administration.

According to the data, 52% to 48% of Democratic-aligned adults state that the party’s leadership is currently taking Democrats in the wrong direction. While the survey was conducted before some Senate Democrats backed the GOP-led spending bill on Friday evening, calls for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to be replaced have begun to circulate among lawmakers.

In addition to CNN’s recent poll, MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki echoed CNN’s low favorability record for Democrats on “Meet the Press,” calling out how Democrats believe their party is being “too cooperative” with President Donald Trump.

“Look at the numbers here for Democrats: 27% positive, more than double, 55% negative,” Kornacki said. “This is what’s happened to the Democrats since the election.”

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“One thing to note on this for the Democrats, too, a lot of that negative rating, it’s coming from Democrats themselves, and a lot of that is coming from Democrats who say the party is being too cooperative in their view with Donald Trump,” Kornacki added.

Since Trump’s November win, Democrats have struggled to get behind one unifying message and leader ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. While some have suggested the party didn’t focus enough on specific policies before the election, others argued the issue was less about policies and more about a “messaging” problem within the party.

When respondents in the CNN/SSRS poll were asked to name the Democratic leader they feel “best reflects the core values” of the party, over 30% didn’t name a lawmaker in response.

“No one,” one respondent said. “That’s the problem.”

Of those who did write in a name, 10% chose Democrat New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 9% selected former Vice President Kamala Harris, 8% said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and 6% selected House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Additionally, 4% each named former President Barack Obama and Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, with 2% writing in Schumer along with a handful of other names.

Notably, Democrat Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin who was chosen to deliver her party’s response to Trump’s joint address to Congress on March 4, had only a 13% favorable rating among respondents. Additionally, 14% held an unfavorable view, while 52% stated they had never heard of her.

The data also shows Republicans with a 36% favorability rating, with 79% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents holding a positive view of the party.