New poll delivers troubling signs for Democrats

The Democratic Party’s credibility with voters has plummeted even further since the 2024 election, raising alarm bells as the party looks to rebuild ahead of the midterms and the next presidential election, according to a new poll obtained by The Hill. 

The poll, which was conducted between May and June by Unite the Country, a Democratic super PAC, showed voters perceived the Democratic Party as “out of touch,” “woke” and “weak.” 

The party has seen its support erode with white men, Hispanic men and working-class voters across the board, with approval ratings sitting below 35 percent across those demographics. And enthusiasm within the party continues to wane in the wake of 2024, the poll revealed.  

“This is the reality of the perception of us as a party, and until we accept that, it’s going to be hard to move forward,” said Democratic strategist Rodell Mollineau, who serves as senior adviser to the super PAC. “There’s a perception out there, outside of Democratic elites, and it’s taken hold in not just the MAGA crowd but people that should be with us.” 

“Democrats need to realize that in order to improve and get better to not only win in 2028 but to win in 2030 and 2032 and beyond,” Mollineau added.

Democrats have been searching for a way out of the wilderness since their devastating loss in November, when they not only lost the presidency once again to President Trump but also the House and Senate. 

Since then, party officials have conducted a number of postmortems — including polls, focus groups and strategy sessions — as part of the party’s rebuilding effort. 

But Democrats are still feeling dejected and rudderless in the early months of the Trump presidency. An AP-NORC poll out in May revealed that only 35 percent of surveyed Democrats are optimistic about the party’s future, compared with 57 percent in July 2024. And there is an overwhelming sense that the party lacks strong leaders, the same poll showed. 

Democratic donors and bundlers have refused to cut checks for Democratic candidates, citing the party’s lack of enthusiasm and vision.   

Unite the Country’s latest poll, which was conducted with voters in 21 battleground counties across 10 battleground states, revealed that Democrats have not escaped the shadow of their loss in 2024. And voters’ perceptions of the party remain the same. 

Democrats have had opportunities to hit back at the Trump administration, including on tariffs, immigration deportations and, most recently, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” 

But political observers say those moments were wasted.

“I was frustrated during the ‘one big beautiful bill’ stuff,” said Steve Schale, Democratic strategist and CEO of Unite the Country. “We missed an opportunity to really define a different kind of vision.”

The super PAC’s poll revealed that Democrats’ prime emphasis on fighting for democracy — while still popular within the party — is no longer going to cut it with the general electorate, and soft-on-immigration policies turn too many voters away. 

The party has some serious rethinking to do when it comes to their priorities and messaging, Mollineau said. 

“It’s not about abandoning who we are. It’s not about leaving people behind. We are a big tent party. But it is about prioritizing the messages and starting where the majority of the people are,”  Mollineau said.

“We do better when we first meet voters where they are and then bring them along on other issues. … And nine times out of 10, what they really care about is whether or not they’re going to be able to afford health care, whether or not their kids are going to be able to go to a good school … housing, living paycheck to paycheck.”

Mollineau said Democrats should start with “good economic appeal, and then I think that allows us to broaden” the issues the party focuses on. 

But Unite the Country’s poll revealed that for voters to even consider rejoining the party’s ranks, Democrats need to reestablish credibility. And political observers say that a new generation of party leadership that can separate itself from the Washington establishment is critical.

“They want us to have different leaders,” Schale said. “There was this segment of voters … who said, ‘I voted for Barack Obama and I voted for Donald Trump because I thought they were going to stand up to Washington. … They have very different views on the world, but I … believed they would go to Washington and fight for me and not fight for Washington.’”

“It’s a good argument for more outside voices right now,” he continued. “If I could wave a magic wand, I’d love to see the money that gets spent on things like studying podcasts for young guys being spent on electing mayors and downballot city council members and nonpartisan Democrats and even state legislators … to begin the process of rebuilding that trust with voters.” 

Voters also say they are, first and foremost, concerned about common sense in a political party, something Democrats evidently see as an afterthought, the poll revealed. The party needs to align its messaging with the commonsense rhetoric and policies voters are looking for, political observers say. 

“We as a party oftentimes are getting nuanced in the way that we look at the world, and I don’t think voters are looking for nuance,” Mollineau said. “They’re looking for straightforward communication on identifying the problem and then fixing the problem.”

“Whether you’re talking about the New York mayor’s race or AOC or Trump or Bernie Sanders, the thing that all those folks have in common is voters know where they stand on issues,” Mollineau added, using an abbreviation for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). “There is no nuance there. … People know where they stand, and when they say something, voters believe it.”