President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory shattered the Democrat party’s perception of itself, Pew Research found Friday.
Democrat party members are more cynical about their party’s future than members of either party have been since 2016.
Only 51 percent of Democrats say they are very or somewhat optimistic about their party’s future. Forty-nine percent are pessimistic, according to Pew:
- The share of Democrats who say they are pessimistic about their party’s future is about 20 percentage points higher than it was after the 2022 midterm elections (28%), which yielded mixed results on this question for both parties. It’s also about 10 points higher than after Hillary Clinton’s presidential defeat to Trump in 2016.
- Among Democrats, pessimism is more pronounced among adults under age 50 (55%) than among older people (39%).
- Liberal Democrats (52%) are somewhat more pessimistic than conservative and moderate Democrats (46%).
The poll comes as the Democrat party is in turmoil. It is without a definitive leader and does not appear to know a new way forward.
Democrats have yet to unify behind a central thesis of why Trump won in a landslide victory, moving 48 states to the right.
Some blame President Joe Biden for not stepping down sooner, while others cast Hispanic and black voters as misogynists for voting against Vice President Kamala Harris.