Americans’ approval of Democrats in Congress just plummeted to an all-time low while approval of congressional Republicans soared to an all-time high, according to a new poll.
Only 21% of voters approve of the way that congressional Democrats are handling their job, which is a record low, according to a Quinnipiac University poll published on Wednesday. Of those surveyed, 68% said they disapproved of how Democrats in Congress are handling their positions, and 11% did not offer an opinion.
Meanwhile, the survey found that a record number of Americans approve of how Republicans in Congress are handling their job. Of those surveyed, 40% approved of congressional Republicans’ handling of their jobs, while 52% disapproved and 8% did not give an opinion.
Still, 40% of Democrats said they approve of the way the congressional Democrats are handling their job, while 49% disapprove and 11% did not offer an opinion, according to the survey.
“It’s a sobering slap down of historic proportions for the Democrats in Congress,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy wrote in a Wednesday press release. “Their Republican counterparts take a victory lap as the Democrats try to get their footing.”
President Donald Trump has recently notched higher approval ratings in the first several weeks of his second term than he did during his first term, with a CBS News poll released on Feb. 9 finding that 53% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing during his current presidency. Notably, a poll published toward the end of January found that overall approval ratings for the Democratic Party neared an all-time low.
The Democratic Party has faced various hurdles since Trump’s resounding victory in the 2024 presidential election, primarily struggling to formulate a plan to combat the new administration’s agenda, while Republicans have continued to expand their base. Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin acknowledged in a Tuesday memo that his party lost a share of working class voters and are now often viewed as the “party of elites.”
Quinnipiac University’s poll was conducted from Feb. 13 to 17 and surveyed 1,039 registered voters. The survey’s margin of error is three percentage points.
Featured Image Credit: Martin Falbisoner
