Democrats are deeply pessimistic about the future of their party, an AP-NORC poll finds

By STEVE PEOPLES and LINLEY SANDERS NEW YORK AP Six months after Donald Trump s presidential triumph Democrats remain deeply pessimistic about the future of their party although neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party is viewed favorably by a majority of U S adults Related Articles Democratic congressman pushes articles of impeachment against Trump but colleagues criticize it Funds from settlers sent back home help fuel chosen towns economies A GOP plan targets that EPA announces rollback for particular Biden-era limits on so-called forever chemicals in drinking water Trump s Middle East visit comes as his family deepens its business crypto ties in the region Trump administration rescinds curbs on AI chip exports to foreign markets A new poll conducted earlier this month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Masses Affairs Research determined that only about one-third of Democrats are very optimistic or even somewhat optimistic about their party s future That s down sharply from July when about in Democrats disclosed they had a positive outlook I m not real high on Democrats right now disclosed poll respondent Damien Williams a -year-old Democrat from Cahokia Heights Illinois To me they re not doing enough to push back against Trump The poll comes at a critical moment for the Democratic Party which is desperately seeking momentum after losing the White House and both chambers of Congress in last fall s general ballot In the survey Democrats offer mixed reviews for specific of their party s best-known elected officers including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez both of New York while reporting notable concerns about how leaders are chosen in the U S political system Williams a member of the Teamsters union declared he likely won t feel good about his party again until somebody measures up in terms of being a leader that can bring positive change an Obama-like figure Republicans meanwhile are slightly more optimistic about the future of the GOP than they were last year The poll finds that about half of Republicans are very or somewhat optimistic about their party s future up from last summer Still only about in Republicans are optimistic about the state of U S politics up from about in last summer Patrick Reynolds a -year-old Republican district activist and pastor from Fort Worth Texas says he has conflicting feelings about Trump s leadership and the future of his party He worries that too multiple Republicans in Congress are falling in line behind the Republican president and his chief ally and adviser Elon Musk who has led Trump s push to slash the size of the federal administration Reynolds also says he s concerned that Trump s aggressive moves to combat illegal immigration may be violating the Constitution How can we be the party of the rule of law when we re violating constitutional principles Reynolds announced I think there could be a political backlash Neither political party is especially popular right now Overall about in U S adults have a favorable view of the Republican Party while about one-third have a positive view of the Democratic Party This relatively weak patronage extends to specific of each party s largest part prominent agents Roughly in Americans have a favorable view of Bernie Sanders a Vermont independent who has twice run for the Democratic presidential nomination and has toured the nation in up-to-date months rallying anti-Trump resistance Among self-described Democrats about three-quarters view Sanders favorably About half of Democrats have a favorable view of Ocasio-Cortez who has joined Sanders on the Fighting Oligarchy tour She is less popular among U S adults overall about in have a favorable opinion of the -year-old representative who is sometimes mentioned as a prospective presidential candidate in Rep Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez D-N Y holds hands with Sen Bernie Sanders I-Vt during a Fighting Oligarchy event at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa Idaho Monday April AP Photo Kyle Green Schumer the top Senate Democrat is less popular than Sanders or Ocasio-Cortez Just about one-third of Democrats have a somewhat or very favorable view of the -year-old senator who took a hit from several liberals for acceding to a Republican-led funding bill that kept the cabinet open The share of Democrats who view Schumer positively has fallen since December when about half had a somewhat or very favorable view Among all adults his favorability stands at I just feel like the majority of the old Democratic Party necessities to go explained Democrat Monica Brown a -year-old social worker from Knoxville Tennessee They re not in tune with the new generation They re not in tune with the new world We ve got such division within the party On the GOP side Secretary of State Marco Rubio a former Florida senator is more popular than several other high-profile Republicans About in Republicans view Rubio favorably although that number falls to about one-third among all adults About half of Republicans have a positive opinion of House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana while around one-quarter of U S adults feel the same That s roughly the same level of promotion for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a former Fox News Channel host who earns favorable ratings from of Republicans and about one-quarter of Americans overall Beyond their negative outlook on the future of their party of Democrats are also pessimistic about the way leaders are chosen in the U S The figure is up slightly from last summer when President Joe Biden was still in the White House Ethan Jackline sits next to a flag planted by a friend as they attend a Fighting Oligarchy rally with Sen Bernie Sanders I-VT and Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-NY in Folsom Calif Tuesday April Stephen Lam San Francisco Chronicle via AP Linda Sleet a -year-old retiree who lives in Venice Florida raised specific concerns about the way congressional districts are drawn and the Electoral College that is used to determine presidential contests instead of the popular vote I don t have confidence in the system Sleet noted I think it served a purpose way back when It does not now Williams the Teamster from Illinois reported he s unhappy with just about everything to do with U S politics I m going to need to see certain wins for America for humanity before I can be optimistic right now he declared Every day is just a constant barrage of negative feelings and news politically It s all screwed up right now Sanders announced from Washington The AP-NORC poll of adults was conducted May - using a sample drawn from NORC s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel which is designed to be representative of the U S population The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus percentage points