Democrats' favorable ratings drop to record low in two new national polls

Just 29% of those questioned in a CNN poll released on Sunday say they have a favorable view of the party, with 54% holding an unfavorable view.

That's a record low in CNN polling dating back more than three decades. 

Just 63% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents questioned in the survey said they hold a favorable view of the party, down from 72% in January and down from 81% four years ago, at the start of the Biden administration.

It was a similar story in an NBC News national poll also released on Sunday.

The Democratic Party is in the political wilderness, following last November's election setbacks, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate, and defended their fragile House majority. And Republicans made gains among Black and Hispanic voters, as well as younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party's base.

The GOP's favorable rating is unchanged from January, with the unfavorable rating up four points.

The Republican Party was also underwater in the NBC News poll, with a 39% favorable and 49% unfavorable rating.

That's a shift from polling at the start of Trump's first term in office, when nearly three-quarters of Democrats said their party should work with Republicans.

There was a similar finding in the NBC News poll, with almost two-thirds of Democrats wanting their lawmakers in Congress to stick to their positions rather than to make compromises with Trump. The numbers in the NBC News poll are also a switch from their findings during the initial months of the first Trump administration.

Both polls were conducted before the move last week by 10 Democrats in the Senate, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to vote in favor of a GOP-crafted federal government spending bill that averted a government shutdown.

The move infuriated many on the left, who want their party to take a tougher stand in resisting Trump's agenda.

The poll also asked respondents to name the political leader who they feel "best reflects the core values" of the party.

Ten percent of Democratic-aligned adults name Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, with 9% saying former Vice President Kamala Harris, 8% offering progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and 6% naming Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top Democrat in the House. More than three in 10 did not offer a response.