As Democrats try to battle Donald Trump, they're finding the biggest battle they face might be in the mirror. The party appears to be splintering right before our eyes, prompting CNN's data guru Harry Enten to call it a "revolt" and warn "sirens should be going off." The data Enten is referring to is a new Gallup poll that shows just 39% of Democratic voters trust their party leaders on the economy. That's down from 80% just a year ago, and 21 points lower than the previous record low (60%). The same data shows Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) with just a 52% approval rating among Democrats in his home state, down more than 20 points since December.
These numbers come as DNC Vice-Chair David Hogg has called for challenging incumbent Democrats in next year's primaries, prompting strong backlash from the DNC Chair and old guard Dems like James Carville, who called Hogg a "twerp." Then last week, longtime Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin announced he will retire in 2026, saying he'd rather "walk out the front door" than "be carried out the back door." And a former Clinton advisor and veteran Democrat strategist called the party rudderless and out of touch.
There is more anecdotal evidence of the Dems' implosion. "One of the leaders of the Democratic Party in Florida just switched parties, he no longer will affiliate with the Democrats and instead became an independent," says Robert Stein, Rice University political science professor. "That gives you an idea that the brand is simply not selling, and I think the Democrats have a LOT of room to improve."
Stein believes this phenomenon goes beyond politics. "I think this is a bigger problem," he tells KTRH. "American voters in both parties are not happy with the institutions that run their country, and it does not stop in Washington...it goes all the way down to the state capitals, it goes down to local school districts...that's the problem."