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Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin isn’t sugar-coating his party’s problems.
“We do have a brand problem,” the DNC chair said in a recent Fox News Digital interview.
And in what’s starting to sound like a broken record, the Democratic Party hit another historic low in a national poll this past weekend.
Only a third of those questioned in a Wall Street Journal survey said they held a favorable view of the party, with 63% holding an unfavorable opinion of the Democrats.
WHAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL
Democrats lost control of the White House and the Senate and fell short in their bid to win back the House majority in the 2024 elections. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
That’s the highest unfavorable rating for the party in a Wall Street Journal poll dating back 35 years.
While the favorable ratings for President Donald Trump (45%-52%) and the Republican Party (43%-54%) in the poll were nothing to brag about, they weren’t as deeply underwater as the Democrats’ favorability.
“The Democratic brand is so bad that they don’t have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party,” said longtime Democrat pollster John Anzalone, who conducts Wall Street Journal polling along with veteran Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio.
POLL POSITION: DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S NUMBERS SINK TO NEW LOWS
The Wall Street Journal survey, which was conducted July 16-20, is the latest this month to indicate the plunge in Democratic Party polling.
Just 28% of Americans viewed the party favorably, according to a CNN poll conducted July 10-13. That’s the lowest mark for Democrats in the entire history of CNN polling, going back over 30 years.
And just 19% of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University national poll in the field July 10-14 gave Democrats in Congress a thumbs up on how they’re handling their duties, with 72% disapproving.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speak at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on June 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch)
That’s an all-time low since Quinnipiac University first began asking congressional approval questions in their surveys 16 years ago.
The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since last year’s elections. Not only did the party lose control of the White House and Senate and failed to win back the House majority, but Republicans made gains among Black, Hispanic and younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base.
Since Trump’s return to power earlier this year, an increasingly energized base of Democrats is urging party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president’s sweeping and controversial second-term agenda. Their anger is directed not only at Republicans, but at Democrats they feel aren’t vocal enough in their opposition to Trump.
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That has fueled a plunge in the Democratic Party’s favorable ratings, which have hit historic lows in several surveys this year.
“When you hit rock bottom, there’s only one direction to go, and that’s up, and that’s what we’re doing,” Martin said last week in his Fox News Digital interview.
Martin said “people have bought into this idea that Donald Trump and the Republicans best represent their interests for the future.”
And that’s reflected in the Wall Street Journal poll. Even though Trump’s overall approval ratings and his numbers specifically on how he’s handling the economy are in negative territory, the survey indicates voters still trust Republicans over Democrats on the economy by 10 points.
But there is a silver lining in the poll for Democrats.
By a 46%-43% margin, voters questioned in the survey said they would back a Democrat for Congress over a Republican.
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Democrats are aiming to win back the House and Senate majorities in next year’s midterm elections.
In Wall Street Journal polling eight years ago, Democrats held an eight-point advantage, a year ahead of a blue wave that swept the party back into power as they grabbed the House majority in the 2018 midterms during the first Trump administration.
