CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten says Democrats ‘don’t like their own leaders’ as approval ratings slide: ‘There is no historical precedent for this’
Democrats might be ahead as the midterms approach, but CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said the party has another issue to deal with.
Democratic voters aren’t particularly happy with their own leaders.
According to new CNN polling, Democrats have a much lower opinion of those running the party than they did before the 2018 midterms.
Enten pinned some of the blame on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has been unpopular for years.
‘Big difference’
Enten started by comparing how voters see their party leaders now versus how they rated them heading into the 2018 midterms.
“Democrats, on their own leaders, they don’t like their own leaders! I dare say they despise their own leaders!” he exclaimed.
Enten said the numbers are a “big difference” from 2018, when Democrats were also trying to take back the House and Senate.
31-point difference
The latest CNN poll put Democratic leaders at a -12 net approval rating, compared with +19 in 2018. That’s a 31-point difference.
Enten displayed two thumbs-down emojis to illustrate how unhappy Democratic voters are with their party.
“What a different world that we are in right now. … They are 31 points south of the border,” he added.
He said Schumer’s lack of popularity shows just how much trouble the party’s leadership is having.
‘Democrats hate Chuck Schumer’
Among Democratic voters, Schumer’s net approval was +28 in 2018 and climbed to +53 in 2020.
His net approval rating is now -5, according to the stats Enten highlighted.
“These are no bueno, no good numbers, and this is among Democrats!” he said.
“Democrats hate Chuck Schumer,” Enten added.
Least popular Democrat
Enten then went all the way back to 1985, saying the polling does not show another Democratic leader with numbers as low as Schumer’s among Democrats.
“There is no historical precedent for this,” Enten said. “[Schumer is] the least popular Dem Senate leader ever.”
He added that Schumer’s numbers give him a 50-50 chance of staying on as the top Senate Democrat.