Historic Low Approval for Democrats as Voters Demand Change in House Control

A new Quinnipiac poll reveals a record low approval rating for congressional Democrats, with just 18% of voters approving of how they are handling their job, compared to 73% who disapprove.

Despite this dismal sentiment, voters lean slightly toward Democrats when asked who should control the House of Representatives.

“A family squabble spills over into the holidays,” said Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy. “Democratic voters want their party to hold the reins of the House but are not the least bit happy about what they are doing at the moment.”

The poll, published Wednesday, surveyed 1,035 self-identified registered voters nationwide between December 11 and December 15, with a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points.

Harry Enten, a data expert, remarked on the findings: “Democrats in the minds of the American public are lower than the Dead Sea.”

“Overall, they are 55 points underwater; their approval rating is south of 20%. It’s even worse when you look at independents … negative 61 points; that means that their approval rating is 61 points lower than their disapproval rating,” Enten added.

Quinnipiac first began asking the approval question in 2009. The previous low was in July 2025, when 19% of voters approved of the job the Democrats in Congress were doing, while 72% disapproved.

The poll also shows that 35% of voters approve of how Republicans in Congress are handling their job, with 58% disapproving.

The top two issues for voters are the economy (24%) and preserving democracy in the United States (24%), followed by immigration (18%) and healthcare (10%).

On the presidential front, 54% of voters think President Donald Trump is going too far, 37% believe he is handling it about right, and 7% feel Trump isn’t going far enough in using the power of the presidency.

A separate figure indicates that only 40% of voters approve of how Trump is handling his job as president, compared to 54% who disapprove.