Sen. Chuck Schumer’s standing in New York has cratered in fresh polling, leaving him vulnerable to internal Democratic challenges and sparking talk of a possible primary from the left.
New York Senator Chuck Schumer has found himself under heavy fire from fellow Democrats since the fallout of the Schumer Shutdown. Party critics point to his failure to secure additional Obamacare subsidies and to his inability to keep the caucus unified, with eight Democrats joining Republicans to pass the continuing resolution. That breakdown has left the Senate Minority Leader politically exposed at a moment when discipline matters most.
Fresh numbers from a Siena College survey show the most dramatic slump in Schumer’s approval in more than two decades. Only 32 percent of New Yorkers view him favorably while 55 percent view him unfavorably, a gap that signals broad dissatisfaction and opens space for challengers to make real noise. For a longtime leader, slipping this far is a clear sign of trouble inside the state Democratic base.
“This is Schumer’s lowest approval in more than 20 years,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said. “In February 2005, he had a 63-20 percent favorability rating. By July 2005, it reached an all-time high of 70-22 percent. In December 2016, the month before becoming Senate Democratic leader, he still had a positive rating with Republicans at 55-37 percent. Today, 74 percent of Republicans and 61 percent of independents view him unfavorably, and even among Democrats, his support is barely positive at 45-43 percent, down from 52-36 percent in September.”
That last line matters: Schumer’s margin among Democrats is paper-thin, and a leader who can’t count on his own members isn’t much of a leader. City voters are even colder: the poll finds only 38 percent of city respondents view him favorably while 48 percent do not. Those are the very constituencies party power brokers rely on to hold statewide seats and to fend off insurgencies.
Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is already being mentioned as a potential successor if Schumer doesn’t step aside, and allies are reportedly pushing for a challenge. “It’s worth noting that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has an overall 42-37 percent favorability rating,” Greenberg said. “But it’s 62-20 percent with Democrats and 55-27 percent with City voters.” That contrast highlights how different wings of the party see political opportunity.
For Democrats who prefer practical governing over ideological posturing, the rise of a figure like AOC poses a dilemma: energize the base but risk alienating moderates and swing voters. For those on the left, the math in the poll is encouraging enough to consider a primary if Schumer resists calls to pass the mantle. Either way, the conversation has moved from private grumbling to public plotting.
The poll itself surveyed 802 registered voters in New York from November 10-12 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus four points. Those are standard parameters for a statewide survey, but the results are stark enough that party strategists will be poring over regional splits and demographic breakdowns. In a tight political environment, a few points can change calculations for leadership and for challengers alike.
Republicans will likely seize on this as proof that Democratic leadership can’t deliver on promises and struggles to stay unified under pressure. The breakdown over subsidies and the CR vote gives GOP strategists a ready narrative: Democratic leaders talk big but fail to keep their team together when it matters. That line of attack is politically effective and will be heard loud and clear in New York.
Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America into the “Golden Age” as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
