Democratic Party's Favorability Has Found a New Low

The Democratic Party's favorability rating has crashed to an all-time low, according to two new polls. An NBC News poll finds just 27% of 1,000 registered voters have positive views of the party, for the lowest rating since NBC started polling back in 1990. Meanwhile, a CNN poll finds 29% of 1,206 US adults view the party favorably, for a 20-point drop since January 2021 and a record low since CNN polling began in 1992. The GOP's favorability rating isn't exactly sky-high at 36% in CNN's poll and 39% in NBC's. However, 79% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have a positive view of the GOP in the CNN poll, while 63% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have a positive view of their own party, down from 72% in January.

NBC consoles Democrats, noting that the GOP had its lowest-ever rating of 22% favorability in October 2013 and went on to score "its biggest House majority in nearly a century" the following year. CNN notes that how Democratic-aligned adults view the Democratic Party and its leadership "divide sharply along demographic lines." Some 52% say leadership is taking the party in the wrong direction, while 48% believe the party is on the right course. But 57% of Democratic-aligned women and people of color say the party is moving in the right direction, compared to just 38% of men and 32% of white college graduates, per CNN.

The survey was conducted March 6-9, before Democrats voted to support the Republican spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. However, it finds 57% of Democrats and Democratic leaners believe the party should mainly work to stop the GOP agenda, compared to 42% who say it should work with Republicans. Similarly, the NBC poll, conducted from March 7-11, finds 65% of Democrats want the party to stick to its goals and risk bipartisan progress. Just 32% want Democrats to compromise with President Trump and the GOP, down from 59% in April 2017. The CNN poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3% for results among adults and 5% for results among Democrats and Democratic leaners. For the NBC poll, the margin of error is plus or minus 3.1%. (More Democratic Party stories.)