‘Sirens Going Off’: CNN’s Harry Enten Says Democratic Party Facing Internal Uprising

CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten sounded the alarm over growing dissatisfaction within the Democratic Party, warning of what he described as a brewing “revolt” among party members. He suggested that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and others in Democratic leadership are likely reacting with concern to new polling data.

“This, I think, is a revolt, a revolt that is going on within the Democratic Party right now, Democrats and their leaders,” Enten said Thursday during a segment on “CNN News Central.”

A recent Gallup poll appears to support Enten’s concern. The survey found that only 39% of Democrats now trust their congressional leaders to handle economic issues effectively—a significant drop from the 80% recorded in April 2024.

“Holy Toledo!” Enten exclaimed about the results. “That is the lowest number by far in Gallup polling, the lowest previous was just 60%, which is 21 points higher than this. Democrats hate, hate, hate, hate what their congressional leaders are doing in Washington right now on the key issue of the day right now, the economy.”

Turning his attention to Schumer, Enten highlighted data from Siena College that shows a stark decline in the senator’s favorability among Democrats in his home state of New York. Support has dropped from 73% in April 2024 to just 52%.

“That is the lowest I could ever find and see on Sienna College on how Democrats in Chuck Schumer’s home state view him,” Enten noted. “And keep in mind, if you’re thinking about a primary challenge, it would be a few years away,” he said, referencing speculation that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who currently polls better than Schumer, might consider such a challenge.

Enten emphasized just how shocking these numbers are.

“I never thought I’d see the day in which just 52% of New York Democrats would view Chuck Schumer unfavorably. It’s almost unfathomable,” he remarked.

“This screams-, siren should be going off: ‘primary challenge, primary challenge, primary challenge!’ When you’re a Democrat in New York and these are your ratings, this is a big wake up call if you’re Chuck Schumer,” Enten added, also pointing out that support for Schumer to remain as Senate Democratic leader has slipped from 50% last year to 48% now.

Meanwhile, former pollster Mark Penn, who has worked with both President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, echoed concerns about the Democratic Party’s trajectory. Speaking with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham in February, Penn painted a bleak picture of the party’s standing in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s resurgence and Republican congressional gains.

“Well, I’ve got some new polling coming out Monday that I just looked at. And frankly, the Democratic Party is falling off a cliff,” Penn said.

“The ratings, which were in the high 40s, are going to be like 35 percent, and I think the basic question, who is doing a better job as president, Biden or Trump? Trump is winning that with 57 percent,” he continued.

Penn said voters are taking a fresh look at President Biden’s record and the party’s direction and finding more to be concerned about now than they did on Election Day.

“I think you’re seeing a retrospective assessment of Biden and the direction the Democratic Party was going; it really a lot more negative than it was on Election Day. And they’re looking at the contrast on immigration, on economic policy, on some of the social policies, and boy, they’re reevaluating and the Democratic Party, I have never seen anything like this,” Penn said.

“This is a record low for the Democratic Party in terms of favorability. It has fallen really, really way down. And I don’t think there’s any leadership right now that’s going to be able to bring that back,” he concluded.