Since their party’s huge loss in November, Democrats in the House and the Senate have been counting down the days till the 2026 midterm elections present them the chance to swing control back in their favor. A new poll from Harvard’s Institute of Politics makes it clear, though, that Democrats have a lot of ground to make up with the young Americans whose votes they’d need to flip either chamber.
Self-identified Democrats — not Republicans and independents — are dragging down Dems’ approval ratings.
The Harvard Youth Poll, released Wednesday, is filled with troubling statistics about how 18- to 29-year-olds feel about the state of the country broadly and politics in particular. Congressional Democrats should be especially worried at how few of those surveyed have positive views of their work. Only 23% of young Americans approve of congressional Democrats’ job performance, and almost three times as many — 66% — disapprove. (The survey overall reported a margin of error of +/- 3.21%.)
Those numbers are even more dire relative to previous iterations of the Youth Poll. In spring 2017, during the opening days of the first Trump administration, 42% of those surveyed approved of what congressional Democrats were doing. That approval rating jumped to 48% in fall 2020, more than double where it stands today. (In the fall 2020 poll, 49% of those surveyed disapproved of the Democrats’ job performance.)
Even worse for Democrats? Self-identified Democrats — not Republicans and independents — are dragging down Dems’ approval ratings. In the fall 2020 survey, 79% of young Democrats polled approved of their party’s representatives in Congress. Only 47% do now. Even wilder and more distressing for Democratic politicos: Only 23% of the young Americans polled who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris approve of congressional Democrats’ performance.
Democrats in each chamber have their own challenges in trying to win back these disillusioned voters. It’s tough even in the best of years for Democrats to find a one-size-fits-all message for 468 campaigns. A legislative strategy that wins votes for a purple state’s senator might dampen turnout for a typically safe blue seat. Add to that the ongoing debate inside the party over how to respond to President Donald Trump’s lawlessness. The Democratic base is itching for a fight, but more timid lawmakers worry about how a confrontational approach will play out in a general election.
And while the nationalization of politics continues apace, there’s still a patchwork of constituencies that senators and congresspeople serve. That means it’s unlikely that they’ll all turn into carbon copies of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. And not just because the GOP is eager to make her the next Nancy Pelosi; i.e., a member who can be used as a national symbol for the left’s supposed decadence. (I personally say bring it on in both regards, but I’m admittedly not who Democrats should worry about being turned off by that approach.) There’s no time to waste in trying to convince the increasingly disaffected and jaded members of Gen Z that there are still institutions that can make the country better. Complicating matters further, the normal dividing line within the party has shifted. Most recent primary seasons have seen challengers to incumbents waging ideological fights from the left. Now the division appears to be between those who would rather be on offense against Trump versus those who’d rather act defensively. To wit: Democratic activist David Hogg, who at 25 is still eligible to be included in Harvard’s Youth Poll, last week announced that he plans to spend $20 million on primary challengers to incumbents who aren’t sufficiently combative. Party luminaries and House Democrats exploded with outrage at Hogg, a recently elected Democratic National Committee vice chair, promoting intraparty warfare. There are some comforting bits of data within the Harvard poll. As respondents have soured on Democrats, there hasn’t been a corresponding surge of support for Trump or Republicans in Congress. Most of Trump’s signature policies also remain deeply unpopular across the age group, with none receiving majority support. And, fortunately, there’s a lot of time between now and November 2026 for Democrats to right the ship. The only problem is trying to decide which direction to turn the boat. Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who are leading their respective chambers’ campaign arms, have the tough task of figuring that out. Along with DNC Chair Ken Martin, they’ll be the ones deciding whether to talk to voters about the price of eggs and tariffs, due process violations and corruption or all the above. What this poll should tell them, though, is that there’s no time to waste in trying to convince the increasingly disaffected and jaded members of Gen Z that there are still institutions that can make the country better. The Harvard poll makes it clear that young people have seen little evidence of that so far.
Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for MS NOW. He focuses on politics and policymaking at the federal level, including Congress and the White House. 
