Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) saw his favorability rating dip in a poll released Tuesday, as many in the party call for generational changes.
According to a Siena College poll, Schumer is at his lowest favorability rating, dating back to February 2005, at 38% who approve to 50% who disapprove, a change from 41% and 47%, respectively, in June. Among his own party, his favorability rating is 49%-39%, down from 55%-35% in June. The Brooklyn native is also down with New York City voters, 39%-46%.
Schumer, 74, has long been a staple in New York politics. He began in the New York State Assembly in 1975, represented various districts in the House in the ’80s and ’90s, and later rose to leader of the upper chamber’s Democratic caucus.
Following Democrats’ major losses in 2024, many in the party have begun pushing for a generational shift, calling for younger voices in office, as many established members face primaries from the younger generation heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
New York Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, 33, has a 19-point lead over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the poll as he rallies a younger base in the state. The poll shows the Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, in third and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams in fourth. Mamdani won the Democratic primary over Cuomo in a shock to the traditional political system.
“Mamdani, included in the Siena poll for the first time, has a 46-32% favorability rating with New York City voters and a negative 28-37% favorability rating among voters statewide,” pollster Steven Greenberg said in the report. “Cuomo has an underwater favorability rating with City voters, 37-54%, and an even worse 29-61% favorability rating with statewide voters, the worst ever favorability rating for Cuomo in a Siena poll. In fact, among Democrats statewide, Cuomo’s favorability rating is 36-56%, down from 51-39% in March.”
As the push for younger candidates emerges, Schumer has also found himself at odds with the party after voting with Republicans earlier this year for the GOP-backed government funding bills to avoid a shutdown. A handful of members called on the longtime leader to step down and encouraged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to challenge him in 2028.
This risky move led to early polling showing Ocasio-Cortez leading in the hypothetical race. The Washington Examiner reached out to Schumer’s office for comment but did not receive a response.
The poll showed 55% of likely Democratic voters lean toward supporting the progressive rising star, whereas just 36% lean toward the longtime Senate Democratic leader. Nine percent remain undecided, according to a survey by the left-wing firm Data for Progress. The margin of error for the poll was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Compared to Ocasio-Cortez’s massive war chest for a House member, Schumer was not in the top 10 fundraisers for the Senate last time he was up for reelection. The senator was the 13th-highest fundraiser, bringing in over $41 million for the 2022 midterm election cycle.
DEMOCRATS WORRY THEY’RE GETTING TOO OLD FOR OFFICE
Ocasio-Cortez is a young firebrand in the party who has been on the rise in recent years, showing this desire for a new generation in Washington. She has not announced if she will run for higher office, but she hinted at a higher calling when she ran to be the top Democrat on the powerful House Oversight Committee before falling short to the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died just months after assuming the ranking member position.
Connolly is among the three House Democrats who have died since January, raising concern over age for elected officials, while also allowing Republicans more room for error with their razor-thin majority.