House Democrats have a plan to help them win back the working class: turn the world’s richest person into their boogeyman.
They’ve set their sights on holding Elon Musk to account, by attempting to subpoena him and introducing legislation to block him from receiving federal contracts while he holds a “special” role inside the government. They believe the idea of an unelected billionaire wreaking chaos on the bureaucracy will be unpopular with voters — and now they have some data to prove it.
New internal polling, conducted on behalf of House Majority Forward, a nonprofit aligned with House Democratic leadership, found Musk is viewed negatively among 1,000 registered voters in battleground districts. His approval rating is upside down (43 percent approve to 51 disapprove) and his favorability is even worse (42 percent favorable to 51 percent unfavorable).
And the survey was completed between Jan. 19-25 — before some of Musk’s more extreme moves as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Pollsters asked respondents for their thoughts on “the creation of a government of the rich for the rich by appointing up to nine different billionaires to the administration,” and found 70 percent opposed with only 19 percent in support — a stat that suggests Democrats have landed on a message that could gain traction with swing voters.
That data and focus groups held by House Majority Forward helped bring attacks on the administration into focus: Democrats “shouldn’t chide Musk, Trump, and others for being rich,” the group wrote, but point out Musk’s conflicts of interests as head of DOGE and note that he could undermine key safety net programs to enrich himself at the expense of American taxpayers.
“Participants laud Musk’s business acumen and aren’t opposed to the ideals of DOGE,” HMF found. But “Musk’s relationship with Trump – who they view as inherently pro-big business” makes them wary that billionaire’s cuts “could include programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.”
Democrats have been in the midst of a deep soul search, trying to figure out how they lost the White House, both chambers of Congress and the working-class voters that had once been the backbone of their party. The Democratic resistance has been muted in the open weeks of Donald Trump’s second term as its members struggle to land on a common theme.
But Musk’s frenzied campaign to eliminate waste and lower spending has rocked the federal bureaucracy. And in recent days, Democrats have seized on Musk and other wealthy members of Trump’s administration as a way to make their case to the working class.
The poll, conducted by the Democratic firm Impact Research, also found that Musk evoked strong negative feelings. Of the 51 percent who viewed him unfavorably, 41 percent found him “very unfavorable.” Of the 51 percent who disapproved of him, 43 percent did so strongly.
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