More Independents say the Republican Party is too extreme than say the Democratic Party is

The latest Economist/YouGov Poll shows that Americans' opinions of both congressional Democrats and congressional Republicans have improved since earlier in 2026, when both groups were at or near five-year lows. Americans' net favorability of Democrats in Congress has risen to -17 from -33 in January, while that of Republicans in Congress has risen to -18 from -24. (Net favorability is the percentage who view each group very or somewhat favorably minus the percentage who view each one unfavorably.) The two parties in Congress are now viewed negatively at about the same level.

Among Americans who identify with each party, views of their party in Congress have also improved: Net favorability of Democrats in Congress among Democrats rose to +66 from +30 in January. While congressional Republicans' ratings among their own party identifiers never sunk to the low that Democrats' did this year, their net favorability has rebounded to +67 among Republicans from a low of +57 in March.

Americans are somewhat more likely to view the Republican Party as too extreme than the Democratic Party: 47% say the Republican Party is too extreme, compared with 42% who say the same about the Democratic Party. Vast majorities of Democrats and Republicans view the other party as too extreme: 86% of Democrats say the Republican Party is too extreme and 81% of Republicans say the Democratic Party is too extreme. Independents are divided, but are more likely to say the Republican Party is too extreme than to say the Democratic Party is (47% vs. 35%). Few members of each party — only 9% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans — believe their own party is too extreme.

Among the political figures asked about in this week's poll, Bernie Sanders has the highest net favorability among Americans overall, at +6 (46% view him favorably and 40% view him unfavorably). Sanders is viewed very positively by Democrats (+71) and very negatively by Republicans (-67).

Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have similar partisan profiles: slightly negative overall, very positive among Democrats, and very negative among Republicans. By comparison, Graham Platner is less well-liked overall (-12) and is viewed only modestly favorably among Democrats (+13), while Republicans view him negatively (-39); 60% of Americans don't know what they think of him.

Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are viewed favorably among Republicans, but are unpopular among Americans overall. Cruz is particularly polarizing, with a +48 net favorability among Republicans and -69 among Democrats.

Image: Getty (Anna Moneymaker / Staff)

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