The Democratic Social gathering’s model is in tough form within the congressional battlegrounds.
Almost two months into the second Donald Trump administration, a majority of voters in battleground Home districts nonetheless imagine Democrats in Congress are “extra targeted on serving to different individuals than individuals like me,” in response to an inner ballot carried out by the Democratic group Navigator Analysis. Amongst independents, simply 27 % imagine Democrats are targeted on serving to them, in contrast with 55 % who stated they’re targeted on others.
The polling, shared first with POLITICO, is among the first complete surveys of voters in swing congressional districts since November 2024. Home Democratic members and workers are scheduled to listen to from one of many researchers, who will current their findings, at their caucus’ Points Convention on Wednesday in Leesburg, Virginia. The assembly is aimed toward guiding members’ messaging as they put together for the 2026 midterms, and the survey suggests the occasion has an infinite quantity of labor to do to restore its picture.
“The Democratic model remains to be not the place it must be when it comes to core belief and understanding individuals’s challenges,” stated Molly Murphy, one of many pollsters who labored on the analysis by Navigator, a challenge inside the Hub Undertaking, a Democratic nonprofit group. “Although voters are crucial about Trump and among the issues he’s doing, that criticism of Trump doesn’t translate into belief in Democrats. The belief needs to be earned.”
Particularly alarming for Democrats have been findings round voters’ views of Democrats and work. Simply 44 % of these polled stated they suppose Democrats respect work, whereas even fewer — 39 % — stated the occasion values work. Solely 42 % stated Democrats share their values. A majority, in the meantime — 56 % — stated Democrats should not searching for working individuals.
Solely 39 % imagine Democrats have the proper priorities.
“We’ve all the time had the stigma of being the ‘welfare occasion,’ however I do suppose that is associated to a post-Covid feeling that we don’t care about individuals working, and we’ve had a really lengthy hangover from that, which feels actually, actually consequential,” Murphy stated. “How are you going to care about working individuals when you don’t care about work? It’s going to be actually exhausting within the midterms if voters don’t suppose we care about work.”
Republicans, too, face their very own branding issues, in response to the survey, with 54 % of voters saying they view Republicans in Congress unfavorably. Solely a few third of voters stated they approve of the GOP’s dealing with of the financial system.
However Democrats’ difficulties seem to go deeper. For instance, the ballot discovered a whopping 69 % of voters stated Democrats have been “too targeted on being politically appropriate.” One other 51 % stated “elitist” described the Democratic Social gathering nicely.
Since Trump’s reelection, Democrats have struggled to mount a coherent message, even because the president has despatched the inventory market right into a spiral over tariffs. In the course of the presidential deal with final week, some congressional Democrats protested Trump with signage and walk-outs, whereas others mocked these makes an attempt at resistance. It’s a mirrored image of a celebration that’s disconnected from its personal model, as 2024 post-mortems discovered voters noticed Democrats as weak and overly targeted on range and elites.
That downside for Democrats is compounded by findings that Home Republicans nonetheless maintain a bonus on the financial system, even amid widespread financial uncertainty within the early weeks of Trump’s time period. Within the Navigator survey of 62 aggressive Home districts throughout the nation, voters stated they belief Republicans over Democrats on dealing with the financial system by a 5-point margin, 46 % to 41 %. Voters additionally belief Republicans greater than Democrats by a 7-point margin on responding to inflation, 44 % to 37 %.
Simply 38 % of voters imagine that Democrats’ insurance policies prioritize the center and dealing class, whereas 35 % imagine they primarily profit the rich. One other 18 % stated they’re geared towards the poor. Republicans, too, had solely 38 % of voters who stated GOP’s insurance policies have been targeted on the center and dealing class, whereas 56 % stated they have been targeted on the rich.
“For a very long time, Democrats have requested voters to take a look at their plan, then extrapolate from an inventory of insurance policies what they stand for, versus telling voters what they stand for, after which voters imagine their insurance policies will again that up,” Murphy stated.
The information suggests Democrats’ challenges are nonetheless “‘what and who we care about,’ and also you don’t reply that with a coverage record,” she added.
There have been some glimmers of hope for Democrats within the analysis. Their incumbents are extra common of their residence districts than their Republican counterparts, as 44 % view the Democrats favorably in contrast with 41 % who see their GOP officers favorably. In a generic poll match-up forward of the 2026 midterms, Democrats maintain a 2-point benefit, 42 % to 40 %.
However to benefit from that opening, Murphy stated, “we are able to’t get distracted by distractions, and Trump and Republicans are glorious at throwing up these distractions.”
“Democrats must preserve doing what they’re doing on tariffs and well being care prices as a result of that’s what voters are telling us they care about,” Murphy stated.
The ballot, carried out by Influence Analysis, surveyed 1,500 voters from Feb. 21 to Feb. 25.
