CNN data guru Harry Enten has revealed new troubling signs showing Democrats are in their “worst shape” yet as they head into the 2026 midterms.
Enten, 37, struggled to contain his laughter Thursday as he reported on a new Quinnipiacfound House Democrats have a -55 percent approval rating.
“Democrats, in the minds of the American public, are lower than the dead sea,” when it comes to their approval, said Enten on CNN News Central.
When it came to Democratic voters’ approval of their representatives, the results were even more brutal, with Democrats posting a dismal -6. Among Independents, Democrats scored a -61.
“Quinnipiac has been polling this question for the better part of the 21st century,” said Enten. “They have never found Democrats, at least those in Congress, in worse shape than they are right now.”
In comparison, the poll found that House Republicans scored -23 overall but +59 within their own party.
Alarmingly, Democratic voter support for congressional Democrats dropped 28 points since the October government shutdown, when 22 percent of Democrats approved of their representatives standing their ground in the brutal shutdown fight.
“There was a rallying around the flag effect going on, but Democrats did not like how that shutdown turned out,” Enten opined. “They have turned against Democrats in Congress.”
The numbers represent a massive swing against congressional Democrats, who have been feeling bullish about their chances of taking over the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms thanks to their blowout victories in the 2025 gubernatorial elections and huge gains in congressional races.
Enten pointed to Democrats polling only four points ahead of Republicans and said they ought to pump the brakes on celebrating too early.
“Look, Democrats are ahead, but they‘re only ahead by four points,” he said. “Historically, that is quite weak at this point. The 2017-2018 cycle is more than double that at 10 points. The same back during George W. Bush‘s second term in office, where you saw, of course, the Democrats were also ahead by 10 points. So we‘re talking about a lead of less than half what we normally expect.
“And I think that‘s why at this point, there are a lot of Democrats who might be thinking, hey, we can spike that ball in the end zone. But the numbers at this point say, hold on just a minute.”
The segment was a rare break from Enten analyzing damning numbers for Republicans, as he’d been on a streak showing Trump’s terrible numbers on healthcare, the economy, and overall approval. But he stressed that just because things looked bad for the GOP now doesn’t mean they will remain that way by November 2026.
“Overall, a lot can change,” said CNN host Kate Bolduan.
“A lot, a lot can change,” agreed Enten. “And at this point, you know that Democrats are hoping that Donald Trump‘s unpopularity can ride them to a congressional majority. But you know what? When you have numbers like this, hold the phone just a second.”
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