Alex Aronson
02/06/25
(The Contrarian) That’s not just common sense—the party trusted to take on corruption has won every election since 2016, according to anti-corruption nonprofit End Citizens United. It’s also the clear upshot of the House battleground survey our organization conducted with partners on the cusp of Trump’s inauguration. The results were far from pretty. But they do point a clear path forward.
Here’s (some of) the battleground survey’s bad news for Democrats:
- Trump entered office with all-time high favorability ratings (51-47 overall; a jarring 57-39 among Independents)—though his approval ratings are historically low judged against anyone but himself, and his MAGA Republican agenda is well underwater.
- 69% believe “government waste” is to blame for the federal government not working for people, showcasing the devastating effectiveness of DOGE’s bad-faith “government efficiency” framework.
- Even though Americans overwhelmingly see Republicans as “serv[ing] the wealthy,” they also see them as far more “willing to tell it like it is,” and more likely “to hold people accountable.”
- Neither party has an advantage when it comes to “taking on corruption.”
