(The Lion) — A new poll from the Wall Street Journal shows the Democratic Party is less popular now than at any point in more than three decades.
The poll, conducted from July 16-20, surveyed 1,500 registered voters. Just 33% said they view the Democratic Party favorably. Meanwhile, 63% had an unfavorable view. Only 8% of voters said they have a “very favorable” opinion.
Republicans performed better in several key issues, according to the poll. Despite some public criticism of President Donald Trump on inflation and trade, voters still trust the GOP more than Democrats in those areas.
“Disapproval of Trump’s handling of inflation outweighs approval by 11 points, and yet the GOP is trusted more than Democrats to handle inflation by 10 points,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “By 17 points, voters disapprove rather than approve of Trump’s handling of tariffs, and yet Republicans are trusted more than Democrats on the issue by 7 points.”
The Republican advantage was even larger on immigration. Voters said they trusted congressional Republicans 17 points more than Democrats on immigration broadly, and 24 points more when it comes to illegal immigration.
“We were already watching the tide moving out for the Republican Party by this point in 2017, and that’s not where we are today,” said Bill McInturff, a Republican pollster not connected to the survey. “And that’s worth jumping up and down and trying to explain: how much more competitive Trump and the Republicans are today than in 2017.”
Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who helped conduct the survey with Republican Tony Fabrizio, said his party’s problems run deep.
“The Democratic brand is so bad that they don’t have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party,” he said. “Until they reconnect with real voters and working people on who they’re for and what their economic message is, they’re going to have problems.”
In 2017, Democrats held a six-point advantage in voter registration. This edge has now flipped. More voters now identify as Republicans.
The poll also points to trouble for Democrats before the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and fundraising numbers suggest Democrats could struggle to compete.
“Campaign-finance reports out this week show that the Republican National Committee ended the first half of the year with more than $80 million on hand, compared with $15 million held by the Democrats’ national campaign arm,” the report noted.
