Democrats ended 2025 with important victories that steadied a rattled party still reeling from Donald Trump’s return to power. Yet even after those wins, Democratic approval ratings remain stubbornly low.
A recent Quinnipiac University poll found only 18% of voters approve of the way congressional Democrats are handling their jobs. A record low of 73% disapprove. In stark contrast, congressional Republicans have a 35% approval rating while 58% disapprove.
Democrats are even underwater within our own party. The same poll found only 42% of Democrats approve of congressional Democrats with 48% disapproving. Among Republicans, 77% approve of their own party in Congress.
This data indicates Democrats will need to do more than run against Trump if the party wants to win in 2026. To keep the momentum going, Democrats must show working-class voters they also know how to govern in the places where they currently hold power.
That starts with recognizing a hard truth: being anti-Trump is not a governing agenda. It can mobilize a base, raise money and win a news cycle. It cannot, by itself, lower grocery bills, stabilize rents or make health care more affordable.
Democrats must understand that while many working-class voters are exhausted by Trump, they are equally frustrated with a political system that seems incapable of improving daily life. The working class wants to see relief they can feel as sharply as the rising costs that are hitting their pockets each week.
The working class must see a coordinated effort with congressional Democrats taking the lead in holding Republicans accountable for rising costs.
Coordination is key because it demonstrates to working class voters that Democrats can offer more than rhetoric and are prepared to wield power to bring down costs.
The South can demonstrate leadership that’s desperately missing.
Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger will prioritize affordability in her first legislative session. Her plans include working with the state legislature’s expanded Democratic majority to pass a multifaceted health care package designed to tackle out-of-pocket costs.
Another proposal seeks to support Virginians most likely to lose access to health care due to Republicans refusal to extend Obamacare subsidies.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has put forth a budget that would raise public education spending, including a 10% increase in average teacher pay. Stein also wants to invest millions more in health care.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order last month aimed at reducing energy costs.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who also serves as Democratic Governors Association chair, has been a leading voice highlighting the impacts of the Republican affordability crisis on rural America. Beshear has noted the rural health care centers that have already shuttered due to Medicaid cuts and how reductions in federal food aid will hit poor and rural Americans while the wealthiest benefit from Trump tax cuts.
Nationally, Democrats are echoing Beshear with the launch of the first rural outreach program that will fund engagement and messaging efforts focused on rising costs and the chaos caused by Trump’s tariffs.
Georgia Democrats are planning a legislative agenda focused on affordability when the legislature returns; hoping to build off momentum from last year’s elections where the party flipped two Public Service Commission seats with a targeted message on relief from high utility bills.
What these leaders share is a refusal to reduce their politics to opposition alone. They talk about jobs, schools, roads, hospitals and costs. They meet voters where they are and they understand that governing well is the strongest rebuke to Trumpism.
The midterms will not be a referendum on Trump alone. They will be a judgment on whether Democrats used their moments of power to make life more affordable and health care more secure.
Democrats don’t need to abandon their values to win. They need to prove those values can produce results. In 2026, Trump resistance won’t be enough. Democrats will have to show some receipts.
Kevin Harris and Richard McDaniel are veteran Democratic strategists who co-host “Maroon Bison Presents: The Southern Comfort Podcast.”