Democrats are growing increasingly discouraged about the direction of their party, according to a new AP-NORC poll released six months after Donald Trump returned to the presidency.
Only about one in three Democrats now say they feel optimistic about the party’s future — a steep drop from last July, when nearly 60% felt hopeful. Many cite a lack of strong leadership and frustration over how little is being done to counter Trump’s influence.
“I’m not real high on Democrats right now,” said Damien Williams, a 48-year-old Teamsters member from Illinois. “They’re not doing enough to push back.”
The poll also found that overall, neither major party is viewed favorably by a majority of Americans. About 40% of adults have a positive opinion of the GOP, while support for Democrats is even lower, at roughly one-third.
Within the Democratic Party, Senator Bernie Sanders remains the most popular figure, with about three-quarters of Democrats viewing him favorably. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is backed by about half, but Senate leader Chuck Schumer’s support has dropped significantly since late 2024.
On the Republican side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio leads in popularity among GOP voters, followed by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — though their appeal is much lower among the general public.
Republicans appear slightly more upbeat about their party’s direction than last year, with 55% expressing optimism, up from 47%. But trust in the overall political system remains weak. Just 3 in 10 Republicans say they’re optimistic about U.S. politics — better than last year’s 1 in 10, but still low.
The poll also revealed broader doubts about how political leaders are selected. A majority of Democrats (55%) said they don’t trust the current system — pointing to gerrymandering and the Electoral College as key concerns.
“I think the system worked in the past, but it doesn’t now,” said Linda Sleet, a retiree from Florida.
The AP-NORC poll was conducted May 1–5, 2025, with 1,175 U.S. adults.
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As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meeting in New York, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low on Thursday, as Iran reiterated that it will neither enter into new negotiations with the United States nor re-open the Strait as long as its conditions are not met, despite recent indirect talks in New York mediated by Qatar.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York on Wednesday, as Washington pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine and Kyiv and Moscow continue to strike energy infrastructure.
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Xi Jinping touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday evening to a welcome that was fairly unprecedented. President Donald Trump was there on the tarmac to greet him personally, which is something no sitting U.S. president had done for a visiting foreign leader in six decades.
The U.S. Senate narrowly rejected a resolution on Thursday that would have required President Donald Trump to end the war in Iran or seek congressional authorisation, as Democrats sought to put Republicans on the record over the increasingly unpopular conflict ahead of November's midterm elections.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday, 24 September, for talks focused on trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the war with Iran.
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