Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer‘s favorability rating reached a 20-year low in the latest Siena College poll released on Tuesday.
Newsweek reached out to Schumer’s office for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Schumer of New York faced Democratic outrage after he and a handful of other Senate Democrats supported a procedural move to advance a GOP-backed bill to extend government funding into the fall, despite concerns that it would include cuts to popular programs.
The Democratic Party, as a whole, is at a crossroads with a growing number of its voters feeling frustrated at what they view as a feeble response to President Donald Trump‘s policies. Some Democrats have called for a new generation leadership and primaries against incumbents they believe are not doing enough to oppose the administration.
What to Know
Schumer, who leads Democrats in the Senate, is among the Democrats facing criticism over his handling of Trump. Democratic critics have called for him to face a primary challenge from somebody like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He has faced several polls in recent weeks that suggest the funding bill backlash has eroded his longtime popularity in the Empire State.
A new Siena College poll found that his favorability rating is the lowest it has ever been in 20 years of their polling.
It found that 39 percent of New Yorkers view him favorably, while 49 percent view him unfavorably. In February, 45 percent viewed him favorably, while only 41 percent viewed him unfavorably.
His favorability in a Siena poll hasn’t been that low since February 2005, according to the pollster.
Among Democrats, only 52 percent view Schumer favorably, while 38 percent view him unfavorably, according to the poll. It polled 802 New York state voters from April 14 to April 16, 2025. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
The poll found higher favorability for Ocasio-Cortez, with 47 percent of respondents viewing her favorably compared to 33 percent who viewed her unfavorably. Voters were split on Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, with 44 percent viewing her favorably and 43 percent unfavorably.
