New surveys released in June show voters in the Democratic Party are significantly divided on the direction the party should take in the future and the performance of party leadership.
After a string of election losses, many Democratic Party voters are fed up with their party’s leadership and believe there needs to be significant changes. According to a survey released on June 26 by Rasmussen Reports, just 31 percent of likely voters in the Democratic Party “believe the current national leadership of their party is representative of most Democrats,” and 58 percent of those surveyed said the party needs new leaders.
Some have suggested this is proof of a groundswell of opposition within the Democratic Party to oust House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), but a Politico/Morning Consult poll released on Wednesday found 41 percent of Democrats want her to remain in power. Twenty-seven percent said they hope Pelosi goes.
Only 23 percent of all likely voters surveyed by Rasmussen said the Democratic Party leadership is representative of their beliefs.
In a separate Rasmussen poll, 55 percent of Democrats, up from 44 percent in February, said they believe Democrats should continue to oppose “the president every way possible” because it’s better for their party, which conflicts with how most American voters feel. Rasmussen found 64 percent of all likely voters believe it would be better for the nation if Democrats tried to work with President Donald Trump.
Democrats appear to continue to be out of touch with most Americans when it comes to border security and immigration as well. According to Rasmussen, 75 percent of Republicans and 50 percent of independents said they think “it’s best for the United States to tightly control who comes into the country,” while a majority of Democratic Party voters (54 percent) said they think “it’s better to have open borders for anyone but criminals or terrorists.”
Although polls show the Democratic Party isn’t moving in the right direction, Republicans shouldn’t celebrate too much. The Republican Party scored better than the Democrats on many issues, but just one week ago only 37 percent of voters said the country is headed in the right direction, and Trump’s approval rating continues to remain below 50 percent.
Rasmussen’s latest approval-ratings poll, released Friday, showed Trump has the approval of 46 percent of likely voters. From June 15 to July 1, the Real Clear Politics average of approval ratings for Trump is only 40 percent, with 54.5 percent of respondents disapproving of Trump.
Justin Haskins
