The Walls Are Closing In on the Democrats

Democrats aren’t happy with their party: Donald Trump may have been underwater, polling-wise, for most of his second presidency so far.

But the Democrats haven’t benefited from his unpopularity.

And that appears to stem, at least in part, from Democratic voters being very unhappy with their own party.

The Democrats Have Problems

Following the loss by Kamala Harris, which followed the slow-motion disaster of Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race, there’s a great deal of angst among Democrats about the future of the party, about who should lead them going forward, and about whether the way forward is to move to the center, or to the left.

Some new polling suggests that Democratic voters are very pessimistic about how things look for the party going forward.

“Deeply Pessimistic”

According to newly released polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, as written up by the AP, only around one-third of Democrats are either “very optimistic” or even “somewhat optimistic” about the future of the party.

Last July, 6 in 10 Democrats were optimistic about the future.

If there’s any silver lining for the Democrats, it’s that both parties are underwater politically.

Although perhaps unsurprisingly, given the current state of politics, Republicans are currently more positive than Democrats.

Views of Individual Democrats

The AP-NORC poll also looked at views of some individual politicians, with some surprising answers.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is viewed favorably by 75 percent of Democrats, with 13 percent viewing him unfavorably, and 12 percent not knowing enough to say.

That’s a strong showing for Sanders, a politician for whom many Democrats have not-so-strong associations, stemming from his two presidential campaigns. Sanders is viewed favorably by 43 percent of poll respondents overall, and unfavorably by about 40 percent.

Sanders, who is not officially a Democrat but caucuses with the party and ran for its presidential nomination twice, has been going on a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour where he’s joined at most stops by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

As for AOC’s popularity, she is viewed favorably by 55 percent of Democrats and seen unfavorably by 31 percent. Overall, she is favored by just 23 percent of voters, and viewed unfavorably by 37 percent of voters.

As for Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate minority leader, he remains very unpopular. Schumer is viewed favorably by 35 percent of Democrats and unfavorably by 31 percent.

Overall, Schumer is viewed favorably by just 21 percent of respondents, and unfavorably by 43 percent; he drew anger from his party when he did not filibuster a continuing budget resolution back in March. That anger even led Schumer to cancel a book tour.

Schumer was viewed favorably by 56 percent of Democrats as of last year.

The Walls Are Closing In: What Does This Mean for 2028?

When political parties are in the wilderness, as Democrats are right now, what pulls them out is often either the collapse of the other party or the arrival of the next presidential election cycle.

Trump’s popularity remains low, especially compared to where it stood at the very beginning of his second presidency, although it has been showing signs of improvement over the last couple of weeks.

What can be gleaned from the AP-NORC poll? Likely not much, this early and at a time when most people aren’t thinking about the next presidential election yet, although it does show that if AOC decides to run for president in 2028, she’ll be starting from a deficit, both with Democrats and voters overall.

The poll does not ask about most of the people who might conceivably run in 2028, meaning governors like Josh Shapiro, Wes Moore, Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker, or various U.S. senators. Sanders is in his 80s and is likely done running for president, while Schumer is in his 70s and is also almost certainly not going to ever be a presidential candidate.

Between now and then, though, the Democrats are going to need to figure some things out.

About the Author:

Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter