Perhaps voter surveys are trying to provide Democrats with a blueprint on how to thwart the issues that are worrisome in recent elections: immigration.
A poll conducted by democratically leaning groups in major 2026 battlefield districts, first shared with politics in a way that wins and influences, claims Democrats can have a proper message and reduce President Donald Trump’s strength against immigration by 10 percentage points.
The polls do not eschew the overall poor position of Democrats on the issue. Republicans have a net negative job rating of 11% points for immigrants (43% approved, 54% disapproved), while Democrats have a net negative rating of 58% points on the issue (19% vs. 77 disapproved).
Democrats can turn the tide by ignoring the rule of law that says Trump goes too far and threatens citizens and non-citizens alike when he deports the masses. But many Democrats would rather avoid the topic.
“Democrats coming and going in the 2024 cycle were completely silent about immigration,” said Tory Gavito, president of How to Win. “This poll is to show Democrats that one of his most advantageous policies can attack Trump when pointing out how enforcement failed.”
The survey was conducted in more than 70 major congressional districts, including top-house Democrat-owned seats on the 26 “frontline” member list, and the party hopes to follow the next cycle, discovering Trump’s weaknesses. His initial employment rating was 50% positive and 49% negative for immigrants, and reduced to 45% positive and 54% negative after highlighting overreach messaging.
The investigation used a specific example of autistic consciousness tattoowass being deported to an El Salvador prison and sent to a prison because they were mistakenly identified as a gang tattoo, or deported to an El Salvador prison because their parents were deported because they were undocumented.
Researchers say Democrats have plenty of ammunition on the issue. They separated families and found policies that affect children among the most prominent issues among respondents. The majority of respondents, 74%, opposed to revoking visas and green cards from people without proof that they committed a crime. Furthermore, eight in 10 respondents do not support sending citizens to foreign prisons.
“Voters believe Trump’s policy on immigration differs from immigration enforcement. There is a gap,” says Molly Murphy, president of Impact Research. “They’re more supportive of what Trump wants to do with immigration… from a policy perspective, rather than how he actually goes about it.”
Of course, ensuring voters engaged in the details of Trump’s immigration policy can be a challenge. Official votes show that voters who have not heard much about famous cases are likely to approve the president.
The poll conducted May 6-11 was conducted with a margin of error of either positive or negative 3.1 percent, and did not capture the response to Los Angeles’ widespread protest.
The showdown between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s National Guard’s development of the Trump administration is also focused on the president’s overreach.
“Democrats should not focus on protesters now,” Murphy said. “We should talk about the people he’s deporting, because that’s what he wants to be, the people here legally, the people here, the people who have no criminal history, the people who have evidence of citizenship and don’t make this a fight about protesters.”
Rep. Greg Cassar (D-Texas) said the party should “keep these stories in the news.” We will hold a briefing on the findings of members of the Congress’ Progressive Caucus early next week.
“Trump wants to highlight the chaos he’s helping Stoke in Los Angeles,” Cesar added. “Democrats need to make sure they’re focusing more on the overreach of immigrants with everyday people. They’re deeply upset and deeply plagued.”
