CNN’s resident pollster Harry Enten raised the big red flags as he broke down the latest numbers for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — who has held one of New York’s two Senate seats since 1999 — noting that the Democratic leader’s future looks far from secure.
Enten, whose official job title is chief data analyst, joined anchor John Berman on Thursday’s broadcast of CNN News Central — and he laid out the details of a Siena College poll, explaining why those numbers should be setting off alarm bells for Schumer and his team.
WATCH:
🚨NEW: CNN's Harry Enten warns Chuck Schumer it's officially time to PANIC about his political future🚨
"Should Schumer stay as Senate leader? According to New York Democrats, just 50% say yes … 48% say no. This screams — sirens should be going off. Primary challenge. Primary… pic.twitter.com/q1synv0V6y
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) April 24, 2025
“New York Democrats on Chuck Schumer — view him favorably in December of 2024. That was just a few months ago — it was 73%. Look at where that number has fallen to in just a few months. It is now down to just 52%,” Enten explained, adding, “That is the lowest I could ever find in Siena College on how Democrats in Chuck Schumer’s home state view him.”
“And keep in mind, if you’re thinking about a primary challenge, it would be a few years away — but Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s favorable rating among Democrats is considerably higher, in the 60s. So he is doing quite poorly in his own home state of New York,” Enten continued. “I never thought I’d see the day in which just 52% of New York Democrats view Chuck Schumer favorably. It’s almost unfathomable.”
Enten went on to note that other poll questions had given equally bad news for the New York Democrat — who has led the Senate Democratic Caucus since 2017 and was the Senate Majority Leader for the last four years.
“They simply don’t like the job he’s doing as Senate leader. I mean, look at this — should Schumer stay as Senate leader? Again, according to New York Democrats, just 50% say yes. Look at this number — 48% say no,” he added. “This screams — sirens should be going off. Primary challenge. Primary challenge. Primary challenge. When you’re a Democrat in New York and these are your ratings — this is a big wake-up call if you’re Chuck Schumer.”
