WASHINGTON (AP) – Many Democrats view their party as “weak” or “inefficient” according to polls that feel quite pessimistic within the democratic class. Republicans are more complementary to their party, but either they describe the GOP as “greedy” or generally say it “bad,” while Republicans are more complementary to their party.
Opinion polls conducted by Associated Press-NORC Civil Service Research Center In July, we will unveil warning signs for both major political parties as the political focus shifts to elections in New Jersey and Virginia and moves into the mid-term contest next year.
Respondents were asked to share the first words and phrases that came to mind when thinking about Republican and Democrat parties. Responses were then divided into a broad category that included negative and positive attributes. Overall, US adults retained a dim view of both parties, with around four in ten using negative attributes that included words such as “fraud” and “silly.”
But almost nine months after Republican Donald Trump won his second presidential term, Democrats seem to have more responsiveness about the state of their party than Republicans. Democrats could have described their party more negatively than Republicans. Republicans were about twice as likely to actively explain their party.
“They’re barren,” said Katia Clebiel, a 48-year-old Democrat from Indianara, Iowa, about her party.
She believes the party’s response to the Trump administration was “scattered.”
“I’ve only thought it was ridiculously wrong these days,” Cleviel said. “And then they talk a little and roll quickly.”
Democrats oppose their party
Overall, about a third of Democrats explained their party negatively with open-ended questions.
About 15% explained it using words such as “weak” or “indifference”, while another 10% think it is widely “ineffective” or “confusing.”
Only about two Democrats have actively explained their party, with about one in ten saying they are “empathetic” or “inclusive.” One in ten people used the more common positive descriptor.
It is unclear how Democrats’ uncertainty will affect future elections and political debates in Washington, but political organisations do not want to be plagued by internal divisions.
Still, the Democrats’ frustration appears to reflect their concern that they haven’t done enough to stop Trump’s GOP, which controls Washington.
There is little indication that such voters will abandon their party in support of Trump’s allies in future elections, and the majority of Democrats have described the GOP negatively. But a disgruntled Democrat may decide not to vote at all. That could undermine their party’s driving force in reclaiming at least one parliamentary room in 2026.
Jim Williams, a 78-year-old retired from Harper Woods, Michigan, said he normally supports the Democrats, but he was “disappointed” by the party and its vague message. He feels much worse about the Republican Party, and he said he “lost it” under Trump’s leadership.
“All he does is bullies and call them by name. They have no morals or ethics, and I don’t like them as much as they support him,” self-explained Independence said of Trump.
What do Republicans say about their party?
Republicans are likely to be roughly twice as likely to explain the party actively, and many also use simple ideological descriptors like “conservatives.”
Approximately four in ten Republicans used positive attributes to characterize GOPs, including general reference to words such as “patriotic” and “hardworking” and providing a connection to the word “freedom.”
Samuel Washington, 65, of Chicago, said he generally votes for Republicans. Washington praised Trump’s leadership while acknowledging that the president’s policies on trade and expenditure could create short-term economic hardships.
“There’s a lot of pain, but the pain is the result of 12 years of misuse and false leadership from Democrats,” he said. “I feel really good about the Republicans and the direction they go.”
However, the view was not uniformly good. About two in ten Republicans said negative things about the party, including phrases like “greed,” “for the rich,” and “corruption.”
Republican Dick Grayson, an 83-year-old veteran from Tennessee Trade, said he was “disappointed” by the party’s loyalty to Trump.
Above all, he was referring to the price tag for Trump’s tax and spending package. Almost $3.3 trillion The non-partisan parliamentary budget office says it will be a national debt for the next 10 years.
“I’ve always been a Republican, but I’m disillusioned with both parties,” Grayson said.
How Americans see the party in general
Among all Americans, polls found Republicans viewed slightly more negatively than Democrats. The different things aren’t big. 43% used negative words to describe Republicans, compared to 39% of Democrats.
Much of the negativity is driven by the opposing party – and there is the disgust of the independents for both. Independents are very likely to describe both parties with negative attributes rather than positive descriptors, but the important shares provided no opinions at all.
Curtis Musser, a 60-year-old unowned voter in Beverly Hills, Florida, said the parties moved too far towards extremes because of his preference.
He said a serious third party is ready to emerge before the next presidential election, pointing to Elon Musk’s new “American Party.”
“Maybe he’ll drive us in the right direction,” said the retired school teacher.
___ People reported from New York.
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The AP-NORC vote for 1,437 adults was conducted from July 10-14 using samples drawn from Norc’s probability-based Amerispeak panel designed to represent the US population. The margin for sampling errors across adults is either positive or negative 3.6 percentage points.
