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CNN’s Harry Enten Says Democrats’ Own Voters Cannot Stand Them

[Screenshot/CNN]

CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten said Thursday that congressional Democrats are under water with their own voter base.

Over 70% of American voters and 55% of Democrats believe their party’s leaders do not have the right priorities, according to a CNN/SSRS poll cited by Enten. The party’s approval ratings stand at a historic low in comparison to past midterm elections years.

“You might say, OK, well, at least Dems like Democrats. Not the case,” Enten said. “Look at this. The majority of Democrats are independents who lean Democrats. Look at this. Fifty five percent say no. Congressional Democrats do not have the right priorities. And then you just see a minority. Forty five percent of Democrats say that congressional Democrats have the right party. This to me just jumps out at the screen because it screams primary challenges all over the map. And it says that even if Democrats don’t like Donald Trump, they don’t like their own party either when it comes to Congress.” 

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Democrats’ net approval rating with their voters stood at -4 points as of Thursday, which dropped significantly from the +28 and +19-point net approval rating they had in 2006 and 2018, Enten said. He pointed out that these historically low numbers will likely cause primary challenges across the map during the 2026 midterms.

“That is Democrats. Democrats own net approval of their own congressional leaders,” Enten said. “Even Democrats don’t like their own leaders when it comes to Congress. And overall, of course, the numbers are just absolutely awful. So Democrat on Democrat crime. Absolutely. This to me screams again, primary challenges across the map. And it screams to me, hey, when it comes to those next leadership elections, maybe something might be.”

Some experts have said that Democratic voters are frustrated with the party’s inability to stand up to President Donald Trump, according to Newsweek. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer received major scrutiny from his party after he failed to persuade eight Democratic senators to vote against reopening the government in November.

Schumer’s chances of remaining the leader of his caucus have dropped from 65% on Dec. 1 to 50% currently, Enten said.

“We’ve seen a number of Senate candidates, Democrats across the map saying we don’t want any part of Chuck Schumer to be the next leader,’ Enten continued. 

Democrats’ approval ratings have remained at record-lows, with one survey by Quinnipiac University finding that 18% of voters approved of congressional Democrats’ job performances.