When CNN’s chief data analyst says your party is “lower than the Dead Sea,” you’ve got problems.
Harry Enten delivered the brutal news Thursday morning: Congressional Democrats have hit the lowest approval rating in the history of Quinnipiac polling. Not a bad month. Not a rough quarter. The worst ever.
“Quinnipiac has been polling this question for the better part of the 21st century. They have never found Democrats, at least those in Congress, in worse shape than they are right now.”
Eighteen percent approval. Seventy-three percent disapproval. A net rating of negative 55 points.
And that’s not even the worst part.
Democrats Now Disapprove of Their Own Party
Here’s the number that should terrify Hakeem Jeffries:
“Democrats’ net approval rating of congressional Democrats — I want you to keep in mind they had never rated Democrats negatively until this year.”
Read that again. Democrats had never given their own congressional representatives a negative approval rating. Until now.
Democratic voters — the base, the true believers, the people who vote blue no matter who — are now more likely to disapprove of congressional Democrats than approve of them.
That’s not losing independents. That’s not failing to persuade Republicans. That’s your own team saying you’re doing a bad job.
When your base turns on you, you don’t have a messaging problem. You have an everything problem.
Independents Have Completely Abandoned Ship
If Democrats losing Democrats is alarming, the independent numbers are catastrophic.
Net approval among independents: negative 61 points.
That means independent voters’ disapproval rating is 61 points higher than their approval rating. They’re not on the fence. They’re not undecided. They actively dislike what congressional Democrats are doing.
Elections are won with independents. You can’t win swing districts, swing states, or national elections by only turning out your base. You need the middle.
The middle has rendered its verdict: They want nothing to do with congressional Democrats.
The Shutdown Killed Whatever Goodwill Remained
Enten identified the turning point:
“I think during the shutdown, there was a bit of a boost for Democrats, right? There was a rallying-around-the-flag effect going on, but Democrats did not like how that shutdown turned out. They have returned against Democrats in Congress.”
Democrats thought the shutdown fight would be their moment. They’d stand firm. They’d look principled. The public would rally to their side.
Instead, they caved — and their base noticed.
The brief “rallying-around-the-flag effect” evaporated the moment Democrats folded. Now they’re worse off than before the fight started.
Nothing destroys political support faster than promising a fight and then surrendering. Democratic voters wanted resistance. They got capitulation. And they’re registering their displeasure in the polls.
The 2026 Numbers Are Even Scarier for Democrats
If current approval ratings weren’t bad enough, the forward-looking data is worse.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that among voters 50 and older — the demographic that actually shows up for midterm elections — Republicans lead 46% to 38%.
That’s an eight-point advantage among the voters who matter most in non-presidential years.
Older voters are more reliable. They vote in every election, not just when a presidential candidate excites them. If Republicans are winning seniors by eight points heading into 2026, Democrats are looking at significant losses.
“But We Won in November!”
Democrats will point to their November victories in New York City, New Jersey, and Virginia as evidence the polls are wrong.
Those were local and state elections with unique dynamics. New York City elected a socialist — which tells you more about New York City than about national trends. Virginia and New Jersey had their own issues.
National congressional approval is a different question. And on that question, Democrats are at historic lows.
Local wins don’t erase national collapse. If anything, they mask it — giving Democrats false confidence while the underlying fundamentals deteriorate.
Why Is This Happening?
The polling doesn’t explain why Democrats are so unpopular. But the context is obvious.
They spent four years defending Biden’s failures. They enabled inflation. They opened the borders. They pushed woke ideology into every institution. They weaponized the justice system against Trump.
And when voters rejected all of it in 2024, Democrats learned nothing. They doubled down. They resisted. They obstructed.
Now they’re facing the consequences. Their base wanted fighters who would deliver results. They got performative resistance that accomplishes nothing.
You can only lose so many battles before your own side stops believing in you.
The “Lower Than the Dead Sea” Party
Harry Enten’s metaphor was perfect.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth’s surface — about 1,400 feet below sea level. Nothing lives there. The salt content is so high that organisms can’t survive.
That’s congressional Democrats right now. At historic lows. Toxic to their own base. Unable to sustain political life.
And unlike the Dead Sea, they can sink even lower. The 2026 midterms are still months away. If trends continue, these numbers could get worse.
What This Means for 2026
Democrats were already facing a challenging map. The party in power typically loses seats in midterms. Historical patterns favor Republicans.
Now add record-low approval ratings. Add a base that’s turning negative. Add independents who are 61 points underwater. Add seniors breaking heavily Republican.
Democrats aren’t just facing headwinds. They’re facing a hurricane.
They can hope Trump makes mistakes. They can hope the economy falters. They can hope something changes the dynamic.
But hope isn’t a strategy. And right now, Democrats don’t have a strategy — just historically terrible poll numbers and a base that’s lost faith in them.
CNN Noticed. Democrats Should Too.
When CNN — not exactly a Republican outlet — has their data analyst comparing Democrats to the Dead Sea, the party should pay attention.
These aren’t partisan polls. Quinnipiac is respected. The methodology is sound. The results are what they are.
Eighteen percent approval. Seventy-three percent disapproval. Negative 55 overall. Negative 61 among independents. Own base turning negative for the first time ever.
Those aren’t numbers you spin your way out of. Those are numbers that end political careers and flip congressional majorities.
Democrats are at the bottom of the Dead Sea.
And 2026 is going to show them just how much further they have to fall.