CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said on Tuesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s popularity stands at a record low for Democratic Senate leaders dating back to at least 1985.
Some Democrats are calling for Schumer’s ouster after eight Democrats advanced a stopgap bill to reopen the government amid the longest shutdown ever. Enten said on “CNN News Central” that Schumer had a minus-four popularity rating among Democrats, citing September Pew Research Center and FiveThirtyEight data.
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“Look at this — least popular Dem Senate leader ever. I looked at all of the polls going all the way back since 1985. The one who has the lowest rating among Democrats is, in fact, Chuck Schumer,” Enten said. “Look at this. He’s underwater with Democrats, his own party. He’s underwater. He’s at minus four points. That makes him the least popular guy for a Dem Senate leader going all the way back since the mid-1980s at least.”
He said the reason for Schumer’s unpopularity in his party is that “Democrats … want a fighter” and that polling shows they overwhelmingly think Congress is insufficiently countering President Donald Trump.
“During the first term, it was just 46% in 2017. That’s the percentage of Democrats who said that the Dems in Congress are doing too little to oppose Donald Trump. Look at where we are now — 69%,” Enten said. “That is an increase of, get this, 23 points. The super, super duper majority of Democrats believe that the Democrats in Congress are not doing enough to oppose Donald Trump. And that, of course, is a big, big, big, huge criticism of Chuck Schumer. And that is why he is underwater.”
Moreover, Enten said that Schumer’s popularity has plunged in his home state of New York, citing Siena College polling. He argued that Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would likely defeat Schumer if she were to challenge him for his seat.
“[T]he ultimate way to get Chuck Schumer out of office is to beat him in New York State. So how do New York State Democrats feel about Chuck Schumer? And take a look here,” he said. “The net favorable among New York Democrats — Chuck Schumer is above water with the Democrats in his home state, but just by 16 points.”
“Look at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez running way ahead. If she decides to challenge Chuck Schumer come 2028, she’s got a real leg up on the competition,” he added. “I dare say, at this point, she would be the favorite to beat him, which would be something that would just blow my mind, even just a few years ago … Look at that — 30 points ahead. My goodness gracious.”
Although Schumer publicly opposed the shutdown agreement, his progressive critics have criticized him for failing to secure Democrats’ chief shutdown demand — an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of December.
Schumer also faced substantial backlash from within his party after he voted to advance a GOP-backed spending bill in March to avert a government shutdown.
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