CNN Poll: Voters favor Democrats by an 8-point margin heading into the midterms

By Jennifer Agiesta, Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN

(CNN) — Less than 100 days before the midterms, voters are agitating for wholesale change in Congress and looking to the Democratic Party in hopes of making that happen.

Democrats lead Republicans on the generic ballot by 8 points among registered voters, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. Democrats also continue to hold a significant advantage in voter enthusiasm and have a 20-point advantage in preferences among those who say they are extremely motivated to vote. More Americans say the country would be better off (38%) than worse off (33%) if Democrats were to take control of Congress this November, with 29% saying it wouldn’t make a difference.

In an indication of the hunger for drastic change in Washington, a majority of voters say that Congress would be better off if most of its current members were unseated in this fall’s election, higher by double digits than the share who felt that way ahead of the Democratic wave election in the midst of the Iraq War in 2006.

Voters’ frustration with Washington comes through in deeply negative views of both parties and their congressional leaders, along with a widespread sense that neither side is spending enough time on the economic concerns that have consistently been top of mind for voters.

But it’s Republicans who fare a bit worse on that metric: 63% of Americans say that the GOP is focusing too little on cost-of-living issues, compared with 52% who say the Democrats aren’t spending enough time on it.

By a 10-point margin, Americans now call Democrats more than Republicans “the party of change,” a shift from last spring, when the GOP had a 7-point advantage on that metric. The GOP’s modest edge on perceptions as “the party that can get things done” has also narrowed over the past year. At the same time, roughly half of the public says neither party deserves these labels.

Most Democrats want to see change within their party

Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are particularly eager for change within the party itself. Nearly 6 in 10 Democratic-aligned adults say their party needs at least major changes, if not complete reform.

At the same time, those who align with the Democratic Party are now more likely than they were at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term to say the last few years of politics made them feel closer to the Democratic Party (31% now vs. 23% in January 2025).

Those who see a need for change are far more likely to think that younger candidates, new leadership and a stronger stand against Trump would improve the party – rather than a move to either the left or the center. And some said that moving in either direction would be an improvement.

Perhaps the most powerful unifying force on the Democratic side remains anger at Trump, which currently outpaces the loyalty he’s inspiring within the GOP. Seven out of 10 Democratic-aligned voters say their vote in November will be to send a message of opposition to the president, while just 41% of GOP-aligned voters say theirs will be a show of support.

Six in 10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they’d be upset to see their party nominate a candidate who supports even some key Trump policies, far higher than the share who’d strongly object to a candidate with a pugnacious approach, one over age 70, or one who’s a democratic socialist. By contrast, just 18% of Republican-aligned adults say they’d be upset with a candidate who opposes key Trump policies.

How Republicans reckon with Trump’s influence

Amid some erosion in Trump’s GOP support, 56% of Republicans and Republican-leaners now say he has had a good effect on the party, down from 67% who said so earlier this year.

But Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are not as eager as Democrats are for change within their party, with only about one-third saying the party needs major changes. That sentiment is much stronger among the non-MAGA wing of the party: 46% of those who don’t consider themselves members of the Make America Great Again movement feel the party needs an overhaul, compared with 17% of those who do.

MAGA Republicans and Republican-leaners are about twice as likely as the rest of the GOP to say that Trump has had a good effect on the party, and only about one-quarter as likely to acknowledge former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.

Attitudes toward Israel shift in both parties

Most Democratic-aligned adults say they’d be fine with their party nominating a candidate who supports cutting aid to Israel, while most Republicans would be less comfortable with a GOP candidate saying the same. But neither party is unanimous on the issue.

Age is a clear dividing line: Democratic-aligned adults younger than 45 are 22 points likelier than their older counterparts to say they’d be enthusiastic about such a candidate. Younger GOP-aligned adults, meanwhile, are 23 points likelier than older ones to say they’d feel at least OK about it.

Muddled midterm messages

Democrats have tried to seize on fighting corruption as a midterm plank. But while some of the examples they’ve pointed to – including Trump’s personal earnings while president – are deeply unpopular with the public, Americans are about evenly split on which party is fighting corruption, with nearly half saying that applies to neither side.

And amid Republican efforts to focus on culture war issues, Americans are nearly as likely to say that the GOP is too focused on race and gender issues (31%) as they are to say Democrats are doing too much on the topic (36%).

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CNN’s Edward Wu contributed to this report.