drop it like the nasdaq

Chuck’s gonna need some luck!

The Life of Chuck? Not so great right now! Senator Minority Chuck Schumer is in hot water. After joining eight Democrats and one Independent to vote for a GOP spending bill last month, many have questioned his leadership and even encouraged Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to consider a primary challenge in 2028.

A new DFP poll finds AOC leading Schumer by double digits in a hypothetical 2028 matchup (yep, we’re not kidding. April Fools was Tuesday). The same poll found that a staggering 84% of likely Democratic primary voters in big, blue New York think Democrats are not doing enough to fight Trump and the MAGA agenda.

This NY state polling builds upon national findings we released last week, in which a strong majority of Democratic voters (61%) say Schumer is not doing enough to oppose Trump, and 51% believe he lacks a clear, long-term strategy. Furthermore, after reading about Schumer’s vote in favor of the GOP spending bill, a majority (51%) of Democratic voters believe Senate Democrats should select a new leader.

The 2028 election feels pretty far away — who knows, we may all be eating the NYC subway rats after Trump crashes the NASDAQ down to zero points. But until then, it’s a sign that Democrats need to be doing much more to oppose the MAGA agenda.

Read the full poll here.

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Here are some other highlights from DFP this week:

Vibe check utterly and completely failed

Between a Democratic victory on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Cory Booker proving that vegans do indeed have superpowers, Democrats are starting to feel like they have a bit of energy left in them, like that old AAA battery you found at the back of your closet when your TV remote died. But it’ll take a lot more work to fix the all-around bad vibes that have settled into the Democratic Party lately.

Data for Progress conducted a poll of Democratic voters to measure the general sentiment of the party during the first few months of Trump’s presidency. And while Democratic voters are ready to fight back against the MAGA brigade, they really don’t see their leaders giving anything but old and tired.

When we asked Democratic voters how they would rate their party’s response to Trump, 70% give the party a C or below, while about 21% give the party an F. Is it a good sign when your political party has the same average grade of a sixth-grade classroom that won’t stop watching TikToks in class? Let us know.

We also find that Democratic voters are divided on who they believe is the current leader of the Democratic Party. Seventeen percent say that Kamala Harris is the current leader, followed by Schumer (15%), Barack Obama (15%), Hakeem Jeffries (11%), and “no one” (11%).

However, most Democrats can agree on one thing — more than 3 in 5 Democratic voters say it is “very important” that Democrats emphasize how they will fight for the working class (73%), take on corporate interests (68%), lower prices (62%), and take on corruption in Washington (61%).

Anyone got any good names for a Democratic version of the Tea Party? Matcha Mafia? Latte League? Spindrift Squad? Diet Coke Caucus? Given the level of discontent we’re seeing among Democratic voters, we might have to come up with something soon.

Read the full poll here.

I can tell you’ve got real cheap energy

On his first day in office, Donald Trump made a pledge to “unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy.” But so far, it feels like the only thing he’s unleashing is a bear market.

The truth is, fossil fuels are a lot like a pair of Golden Goose sneakers — they’re giving dirty and expensive. How can you claim to want to bring down prices while blocking renewable energy — one of the nation’s fastest-growing and cheapest sources of energy??

As our Executive Director, Danielle Deiseroth, wrote in her latest DFP Insight this week:

For clean energy advocates, who have spent years championing the economic benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as clean energy projects slowly come online, these executive orders provide a key opening to convince voters that Trump’s actions are in direct opposition to lowering costs for American families — which voters said was their top issue throughout the 2024 election cycle.

Our new polling confirms when asked to identify what they think is the cheapest form of energy, 45% of voters say either solar or wind.

Let’s be honest, if Trump could place a tariff on a solar panel on your roof, he probably would. But at least you can offset the massive price increase on your Switch 2 by charging it with affordable, clean energy.

Read the full DFP Insight here.

Trans Day of Visible Anger

This past Monday marked Transgender Day of Visibility — which comes at a tough time for trans people due to… *gestures broadly*.

More than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in 2025 alone, most of which specifically target transgender people. In our survey of transgender adults, we find that a majority of transgender adults (52%) say they have considered moving out of their community or state as a result of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

When asked how they feel about recent anti-LGBTQ+ politics and rhetoric, around half of transgender adults say they are angry (55%), anxious (53%), depressed (49%), and stressed (48%).

However, we also find that among all adults, there is a strong, positive correlation between knowing a trans person and supporting trans-inclusive policies.

Of course, not everyone wants to be as visible as Alex Consani whenever she films a TikTok in public. But the polling underscores the importance of Trans Day of Visibility, which celebrates the lives and contributions of trans people across the country.

Learn more with resources from GLAAD and read the full poll here.

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