Poll shock: Democrats’ congressional approval sinks to all-time low

A new national poll is raising alarms for Democrats as the party works to rebound from last year's election setbacks.

Only 18% of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey released on Wednesday said they approve of the way Democrats in Congress are handling their job, while 73% percent disapproved.

That's the lowest job approval rating for the Democrats in Congress since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question 16 years ago.

The poll, the latest this year to indicate the Democratic Party brand hitting historic lows, comes as the party works to win back congressional majorities in next year's elections.

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Helping to fuel the sinking approval rating for congressional Democrats is their own party. Only 43% of Democrats questioned in the poll gave a thumbs up for the job Democratic lawmakers in Congress were doing, with 48% disapproving.

But in a silver lining for Democrats, 47% of voters questioned in the survey said they would want to see the Democratic Party win control of the House in next year's midterm elections, with 43% hoping the GOP holds its majority.

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"A family squabble spills over into the holidays. Democratic voters want their party to hold the reins of the House but are not the least bit happy about what they are doing at the moment," Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said.

The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since last year's elections. Not only did the party lose control of the White House and Senate and fail to win back the House majority, but Republicans made gains among Black, Hispanic and younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party's base.

Since President Donald Trump's return to power in January, an increasingly energized base of Democrats is urging party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president's sweeping and controversial second-term agenda. Their anger is directed not only at Republicans but at Democrats they feel aren't vocal enough in their opposition to Trump.

But Democrats are currently energized, thanks to their decisive victories in last month's 2025 elections and their overperformances in a slew of special elections this year.

While the Democrats' numbers are in the gutter, Republicans don't have much to brag about in the new survey.

Only 35% of voters approved of the way Republicans in Congress were handling their jobs, with 58% disapproving.

But unlike Democratic respondents, Republicans questioned in the poll are giving their members of Congress a big thumbs up.

Seventy-seven percent of Republicans questioned said they approve of the job GOP lawmakers in Congress were doing, with 18% disapproving.

And according to the poll, which was conducted Dec. 11–15, Trump's approval stood at 40%, with 54% of respondents disapproving of the job he's doing in the White House.