Falling Through the Floor

At Axios Erin Doherty reports:

The Democratic Party is the most unpopular it’s been in polling that dates back to 2008, according to a new survey from Quinnipiac University.

Why it matters: Democrats are struggling to repair their image with voters after a bruising 2024 election that put President Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of both houses of Congress.

  • Democratic lawmakers are grappling — and in some cases, experimenting — with how best to respond to Trump’s rapid, sweeping changes in the early days of his administration.

By the numbers: 57% of registered voters have an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party, the highest percentage since Quinnipiac started asking the question in 2008.

45% of voters have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party.
43% of voters have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, the highest since 2008.

  • By contrast, 31% of registered voters have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party.
  • That’s the largest favorability advantage the GOP has had over the Democratic Party since 2008, according to Quinnipiac.

In short those are the worst favorable/unfavorable ratings for the Democratic Party not simply for as long as Quinnipiac has been asking the question but for the last thirty years or more, as long as the question has been asked.

The kneejerk reaction of apologists to that has emphasized messaging. The Democratic Party’s problem is not merely a messaging problem. As Ruy Teixeira has been saying for some time the party is adopting positions on a variety of issues that are wildly unpopular among historic constituencies. That’s not just a messaging problem. The party needs to change what it’s doing or risk becoming a fringe party.

My advice: execute. Crime should be lower, education results better, and economic performance better with less political corruption where the party is the strongest like Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City than in places where the party is the weakest. The Democrats need for people to be flocking to these places rather than leaving them in droves.

1 comment… add one
  • steve Link

    Violent crime is low in NYC, SF and LA for a larger city. SF is high in theft but OK in other crimes. Not sure how you would rate economic performance but housing prices are still very high in those 3 so people are willing to pay a lot to live there so I think that would suggest economically they are OK. That said, it looks like the single biggest factor in people moving is housing costs in those 3. They need to solve the NIMBY issue.

    Steve

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