Poor Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The Senate Minority Leader thought he could ride out the firestorm that erupted inside the Democratic Party following his March vote for the spending bill to avert a government shutdown. But six weeks later, his favorability ratings among Democrats have plunged to record lows, fueling speculation that he could face a serious primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — assuming she doesn’t opt to run for president instead.
On Thursday, CNN data analyst Harry Enten highlighted a Siena College poll showing Schumer’s favorability among New York Democrats has plunged to just 52% — a stunning 21-point drop since December. A very fired-up Enten called the results “almost unfathomable.”
“They simply don’t like the job he is doing as Senate [minority] leader,” Enten said, citing a new Marist University survey that asked New York Democrats whether Schumer should keep his leadership role. Fifty percent said yes, while 48% said no.
“This screams — sirens should be going off — primary challenge, primary challenge, primary challenge!”
“When you’re a Democrat in New York and these are your ratings, this is a big wake-up call if you’re Chuck Schumer,” Enten told viewers.
Enten pointed out Ocasio-Cortez’s favorability ratings among Democrats are considerably higher, “in the 60s.”
Although Schumer isn’t up for reelection until 2028, Ocasio-Cortez’s star is quickly rising within the party. The far-left congresswoman, alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), has been drawing massive crowds on their “Fighting Oligarchy” campaign tour.
Despite the glaring hypocrisy of the pair’s growing fondness for private jet travel, crowds across the country have flocked to their rallies — and damn if Ocasio-Cortez’s rhetoric doesn’t feel like she’s auditioning for higher office.
In the clip below, Fox News contributor and 2026 Republican gubernatorial candidate in California, Steve Hilton, pointed out that Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders are attacking the very system that enables people to fly around on private jets.
He noted that California has implemented its program and the results have been disastrous.
AOC and Bernie running around California talking about their socialist utopia. We’ve already seen it. Their policies have been implemented in California. We’ve got the Green New Deal. We’ve got all their massive spending. We’ve just extended MediCal – Medicaid for illegal immigrants. We’re doing what they want and the results are a total disaster.
In many ways, Ocasio-Cortez is a skilled politician — she shines on social media and electrifies crowds at campaign rallies — but she has one major flaw that could hold her back. She’s not smart. She struggles to engage in substantive policy discussions. Setting aside the prospect of a presidential debate for the moment, it’s doubtful she could even hold her own against Schumer in a senatorial debate.
Additionally, many New Yorkers still haven’t forgotten her efforts to block Amazon’s plans to build a new headquarters in Queens in 2018. Outraged by the government’s offer of nearly $3 billion in incentives to the online retail giant, Ocasio-Cortez fiercely opposed the project. Mischaracterizing the incentives as funds the city would have to provide to Amazon, her crusade caused the company to cancel its plans.
Given that the venture would have created roughly 25,000 jobs and generated significant tax revenue for the city and state for years to come, it was widely seen as a reckless fight.
Be that as it may, a poll conducted earlier this month by left-leaning polling firm Data for Progress showed Ocasio-Cortez ahead of Schumer by a whopping 19 points in a hypothetical matchup for the 2028 New York Senate primary.
All of this is unfolding as a growing number of elderly Democratic members of Congress have announced plans to retire at the end of their current terms. Many party insiders, most notably David Hogg, one of the Democratic National Committee’s five vice chairs, are actively trying to recruit younger candidates to replace the older members.
Dubbed the “Biden Effect,” these efforts may have been a factor in the recent retirement decisions of the following Democratic senators: Sens. Dick Durbin (IL), Tina Smith (MN), Gary Peters (MI), and Jeanne Shaheen (NH).
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), 80, who was facing a primary challenge from a 26-year-old, is only the latest House Democrat to announce she will not be seeking reelection.
Although it’s way too soon for Schumer to make a decision about 2028, and Ocasio-Cortez may be peaking too soon, he may face calls to step down from his leadership position in the Senate long before that.
I’ll leave you with this:
Comedian and Fox News contributor Jimmy Faila joked that “many people believe [Ocasio-Cortez] could be the next woman to lose a presidential election.”
“So, can AOC fake it til she makes it, or will she lose the nomination to a liberal with more grassroots support like Luigi Mangione?”
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn or X.
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