10 hours ago

Washington, DC, — The numbers say it plainly: the Democratic Party is in trouble.

It’s been six months since Donald Trump returned to the White House, sweeping all seven battleground states and dragging the House and Senate back under Republican control. And though President Trump's ratings are currently underwater, Democrats have yet to find their footing, let alone mount a compelling challenge.

A recent CNN poll released earlier this month found only 28 percent of Americans view the Democratic Party favourably — the lowest rating recorded by the outlet since it began polling the question in 1992.

A new Wall Street Journal poll on July 25 delivered a further blow: 63 percent of voters now hold an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party, the highest in Journal polling going back to 1990.

Asking voters how they would vote in the midterms if they were held today, the Journal found Democrats leading Republicans by 3 points — 46 to 43 percent.

Voters aren't exactly warming to the GOP either, but that's little comfort.

The Republican Party's net favourability, though negative, is less dire than the Democrats'.

Even Trump himself is viewed more favourably than the party trying to unseat him.

The problem runs deeper than bad press or scattered strategy. According to Democratic pollster John Anzalone, "The Democratic brand is so bad that they don't have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party."

That credibility gap is now a chasm: one made worse by confusion within the party’s ranks.

There is no unifying voice, no compelling narrative, and no consistent answer to what Democrats stand for.

Scott Tranter, Director of data science at Decision Desk HQ, puts it plainly: "It’s pretty clear that Schumer is not the guy, just based on his approval rating."

"Out of touch and weak"

Even Democrats' recent wins in local and state elections haven't translated into a national resurgence. Instead, voters are labelling them with bruising words like out of touch and weak.

That's how they showed up in a recent internal poll by Democratic super PAC Unite the Country: a brutal self-assessment from within the trenches.

The party has seen its support erode with white men, Hispanic men, and working-class voters across the board.

Experts say that Democrats need to show that they're hearing people's concerns and actively offering solutions to those concerns to make their lives better and more affordable, but that is not happening.

An AP-NORC poll found that only a third of Democrats feel optimistic about their party’s future, a sharp drop from 57 percent this time last year.

Meanwhile, more voters are now identifying as Republicans than Democrats, and the GOP holds a growing financial edge.

The erosion of Democratic trust isn't new. It's a slow bleed: decades of missed moments, muddled messages, and competing factions inside the party. But under Trump 2.0, the urgency has returned. And still, many Democrats are fumbling for a megaphone.

This week, as the House began its summer recess, Democrats fanned out across the country to host town halls, some in Republican districts, hoping to stir the kind of backlash energy that lit up Trump’s first term.

Their aim: to call out Trump’s agenda and style of governance. But with no standout messenger and no cohesive story, it's not clear whether voters are tuning in.

"No single leader or single messenger"

Stephen Farnsworth, Professor of Political Science and Director at the University of Mary Washington’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, told TRT World that the GOP has simply won the messaging war.

"Republicans have been much better at painting the Democrats as out of touch than the reverse."

It's not just what's said, he argues. It's where and how it's said.

"Democrats have no comparable television and online platform to compete with Fox News," Farnsworth noted.

"And they have no single leader or single messenger to compete with the president for shaping the narrative. That's the nature of being out of power at the White House and in Congress."

Even on issues where Democrats might expect traction, such as Trump’s past associations with Jeffrey Epstein — Farnsworth says Republicans are seizing the mic first.

"Even Trump’s current problems with the Epstein files have as much to do with Republican efforts as Democratic messages."

Interestingly, midterms (taking place next year) have traditionally punished the party in power, a pattern that, on paper, should favour the Democrats.

McInturff, a Republican pollster, notes that five successive presidents have lost control of Congress, including former President Barack Obama, whose party lost 63 seats in the Tea Party surge in the first election after he took office.

With their approval numbers sinking and their message unclear, Democrats can at least take some comfort in this: the midterms have a habit of humbling the party in power.

And that rule hasn't broken yet.