The Democratic Party is more unpopular than it’s been in a generation, according to new polling from NBC News.
A survey of registered voters found that just 27% said they have positive views of the party.
That is the lowest number in the history of NBC News’ poll, which dates back to 1990.
Of those polled, only 7% said they had a “very” positive view of the Democrats.
The stark numbers come while the party attempts to reckon with its sweeping losses against President Donald Trump and Republicans last November.
Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the research with Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, told NBC News the data reflects a do-or-die moment for the party.
“With these numbers, the Democratic Party is not in need of a rebrand,” he said. “It needs to be rebooted.”
Democrats appear increasingly torn between courting moderate voters by collaborating with conservatives or rallying the party’s progressive wing in firm opposition to Trump.
NBC News’ poll found that 65% of Democrats want congressional Democrats to “stick to their positions” even if it means stifling bipartisan progress. Meanwhile, 32% believe in making “compromises with President Trump to gain consensus on legislation.”
The poll findings come just days after a number of Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, voted to advance a Republican-backed spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.
On Thursday, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told CNN that Schumer has instilled “a deep sense of outrage and betrayal” from members of his own party, and the possibility of putting forth a primary opponent is not out of the question.
Meanwhile, Senator Chris Murphy said that while he’ll continue to stand behind the minority leader, Democrats can no longer stick to the status quo.
“If we continue to observe norms, if we continue to engage in business as usual, this democracy could be gone,” he told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday. “I don’t think we have a year to save American democracy. I think the way the president is acting ... puts our democracy at immediate risk.”
When House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was asked if it was time for senate leadership to change, he bluntly told reporters, “Next question.”
