CNN-SSRS Poll: Democrats Highly Motivated for Midterms Despite Low Ratings for Party Leaders

The Democratic Party enters the 2026 midterm cycle with a highly motivated base and a modest advantage on the generic congressional ballot, even as many voters give poor marks to Democratic leaders in Congress, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Key Findings

Motivation and the Generic Ballot: Registered Democrats report substantially higher motivation to vote than Republicans. Democrats hold a 5-point lead on the generic congressional ballot overall, and that edge expands to 16 points among voters who say they are "deeply motivated" to cast a ballot.

Views of Trump and the Political Mood: The poll finds a majority of Americans view the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term as a failure. Independent approval of Trump stands at just 29%. Overall public sentiment is chilly: most Americans describe the economy as poor, and many who feel that way cite "a change in political leadership" as a remedy as often as reducing inflation.

Leadership Approval: Approval for congressional Democratic leaders is 28%, versus 35% for congressional Republican leaders — figures little changed since last April. Republicans largely approve of their leaders (roughly three-quarters), while only about 48% of Democrats approve of their party’s congressional leadership. Independents tend to disapprove of both sets of leaders at similar rates.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a vigil outside of the US Capitol on January 6 in Washington, DC. - Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Democratic Base Dissatisfaction: Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, broad majorities say Democrats in Congress have done too little to oppose Trump and have been ineffective at resisting Republican policies. Seventy-one percent say Democrats in Congress have been ineffective on that front — a 20-point jump from the 51% who held that expectation last January when the current Congress convened. Highly motivated Democratic voters are especially likely to express that dissatisfaction, and they are also more likely to feel unrepresented by the federal government — a sentiment that could fuel primary challenges to incumbents.

Public Split On Control Of Congress: The public is divided on whether the country would be better or worse off if Democrats won control of Congress this November. Republicans largely say the country would be worse off (84%), while 79% of Democrats say it would be better off. Independents tilt slightly positive (35% better off vs. 27% worse off), while 37% say a change in control would make no difference. Notably, many voters who are unsure whether Democratic control would materially change outcomes still favor Democrats on the generic ballot by about 2-to-1.

Perceptions Of Congressional Effectiveness: Sixty-one percent of Americans say congressional Republicans have been at least somewhat effective in passing new laws — down from the 76% who expected such effectiveness a year ago when Republicans took full control of the federal government.

Attitudes Within The GOP: While roughly half the public says congressional Republicans are too supportive of Trump, those views are not uniform within the GOP. Among Republican-aligned adults, 56% say the GOP caucus is doing the right amount to support Trump, 33% say it is not supportive enough, and 11% say it is too supportive. Two-thirds of Republican-aligned adults say Trump has had a good effect on the party.

Methodology: The CNN poll was conducted by SSRS online and by phone from January 9–12 among a random national sample of 1,209 adults, including 968 registered voters. The margin of sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points for the full sample and ±3.5 points for registered voters.

CNN’s Edward Wu contributed to this report.