Democrats currently facing ‘lowest’ favorability ratings ‘on record,’ CNN’s Harry Enten says

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten reported on Sunday that Democrats’ net favorability ratings are currently at their “lowest on record.”

A poll released by The Wall Street Journal on Friday found that the party’s net favorability rating stands at -30 points, while CNN reported that Democrats hold a -26 point rating. Enten said during a “CNN News Central” appearance that the Democrats are the furthest underwater they have ever been since the 1990s.

“I mean, my God. We mentioned CNN, we had that poll come out a little while ago on their net favorable rating,” Enten said. “They are 26 points underwater. You think that low enough? How about we go even lower, we’ll go to this side of the screen. We go to The Wall Street Journal, -30 points. Their lowest on record. These polls have records going all the way back to the 90s, and when it comes to the Democratic Party’s net favorable rating, and both The Wall Street Journal and the CNN poll, the Democratic Party is breaking records in the way that you don’t want to break records.”

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The WSJ’s poll discovered that 63% of voters view the Democrats unfavorably, the highest percentage in the WSJ’s polling dating back to 1990. While Democrats hold their -30 point favorability ratings, the poll found that Republicans are currently 11-points underwater.

Polling from July 17 also found that only 39% of Democratic voters approve of congressional members of their party while 52% disapprove, according to polling by Quinnipiac University. The party is also historically lagging in polls with just over one year to go before the 2026 midterm elections, as they are just two points ahead of Republicans on the generic congressional ballot.

The party has suffered from record-low favorability ratings since they lost the 2024 election. An NBC News poll from March found that just 27% of voters had a positive view of the party, which was the party’s lowest rating since 1990. A CNN poll found in the same month that Democrats’ favorability rating stood at 29%, which is the lowest recorded rating since 1992.

Enten previously found that President Donald Trump held a 63% strong-favorability rating among Republican voters as of July 1, which was the highest percentage given to a Republican president dating back to former President Ronald Reagan.

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