Enten: According To Democratic Voters, Their “Pissed-Offness” Has Never Been Higher
CNN data analyst Harry Enten reports Democrats are more dissatisfied with the party than when President Joe Biden was the nominee in the summer of 2024. Enten said Democrats aren’t sure what direction they want the party to go; 28% want the party to move left, 47% want the party to move to the center. “So the Democratic Party, according to Democratic voters, well, their pissed-offness, if I could say that, has never been higher,” Enten summarized the polling.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Six states holding primaries today, sure to shape the midterms ahead. We are following several races in the Senate specifically with the primaries. This week, will give Democrats a good look, a first look at the candidates who will be fighting to help their party win back that chamber come November. So what message are voters going to send? CNN’s Harry Enten running the numbers for you. And he’s here with us now. Hello. Democrats are hoping to win control once again. How does the party feel about Democrats right now? HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, the Democratic base is very much divided. Take a chap right down the middle, and they are very dissatisfied with the direction the party is going, and you can see it right here because this is, I mean, hello, Democrats who are satisfied with the Dem party in 2026. It’s only about 46 percent, 52 percent are dissatisfied. They’re dissatisfied. This is Democrats. This is Democrats who are dissatisfied with their own party. The majority. Now I want to put this into some context for you, which was Joe Biden back in 2024 put in arguably the worst presidential debate I have ever seen, ever seen. And yet 53 percent of Democrats were actually satisfied with Biden as the nominee. After that debate, the majority were satisfied, and yet today a lower percentage, 46 percent, are actually satisfied with the party. So the Democratic Party, according to Democratic voters, well, their pissed offness, if I could say that, has never been higher. BOLDUAN: That is a fascinating, fascinating comparison. That really is. Yes. ENTEN: It really puts it into context just how upset Democrats are right now. BOLDUAN: OK, so how upset are they? How do Democrats feel about Democrats in Congress specifically? ENTEN: Yes, I feel like we’re turning in “The Tonight Show” here. OK, how upset are they in Congress, right? So you see this 46 percent who are satisfied with the party, the majority who are dissatisfied with the party. Again, this 46 percent lower than they were satisfied with Biden as the nominee after the worst debate performance of all time. And you can just see it right here. I mean, Democrats, net approval of congressional Democrats. Look at this. In October of 2025, right, during that shutdown, that first shutdown, plus 22 points on the net approval rating. So Democrats, OK, fairly satisfied with Democrats in Congress. Today, though, look at that. That is an over 30-point drop, a decline right into the ocean right there, minus nine points. And I will note it had never been negative. Democrats have always had a positive net approval rating of their own party in Congress in every Congress before this one. But now what we’re seeing is consistent numbers across the board where Democrats are underwater. Congressional Democrats are underwater with their own party. And that’s why I think these primaries are going to be so interesting, because they’re going to tell us, OK, which way do Democrats want their party to go? How upset are they? BOLDUAN: But that’s the question. Is there — are there signs of — that this reflects, we want you to be more left or more center or more right? ENTEN: Yes, this is the big problem, which is Democrats aren’t sure what direction they want their party to go. Democrats want their party to move left, 28 percent. Not move at all, 18 percent. Move center, 47 percent. This is a party divide where they’re not actually giving a clear message of where they want their party to go. The one thing I will say is 61 percent of all voters want their party to move to the center. So if all of a sudden Democrats are actually going to move to the left, which is not what their party wants, that will actually upset the rest of the electorate. The only thing that really unites Democrats right now is they are very upset with Donald Trump.
