A significant portion of Americans express disapproval regarding the performance of Democrats in Congress, as indicated by a Marist/NPR/PBS News poll released on Tuesday. Merely 27% of registered voters expressed approval of the congressional Democrats’ performance, a decrease from 39% in February 2024. In contrast, 58% disapproved of the Democratic leadership in Congress, while 15% remained uncertain, according to the survey findings.
Democrats themselves were almost evenly split in their opinions on the performance of their leaders in Congress, with 44% approving and 43% disapproving, as per the poll results. Among all participants, 36%—including 73% of Republicans—approved of the performance of congressional Republicans, an increase from 26% earlier in 2024. Furthermore, 52% disapproved of the Republican leadership in Congress, while 12% were unsure.
The Marist Poll comes in the wake of several surveys indicating that a considerable number of Americans possess unfavorable opinions of the leadership of congressional Democrats as the 2026 midterm elections draw near. The Democratic Party is actively working to reclaim control of the House of Representatives in the forthcoming elections. Recent reports have also pointed to increasing discord within the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and a reduction in donations over recent months.
The survey, which included 1,381 adults, was conducted from June 23 to June 25 by the Marist Poll in collaboration with NPR and PBS News. The results for the entire adult population (n=1,381) carry a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. For registered voters (n=1,206), the margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The design effect of the survey is 1.18, which has been incorporated into all reported margins of error.
Among the registered voters surveyed, the partisan distribution was 35% Democratic, 34% Republican, and 29% independent.
