‘Wow’: CNN’s Dana Bash Can’t Help But Chuckle at Percentage of Americans Who Want Most of Congress Replaced

CNN’s Dana Bash couldn’t help but chuckle when reading that more than 50% of Americans believe they’d be better off if the majority of Congress were replaced.

On Thursday’s Inside Politics, Bash ran through results from a CNN poll conducted by SSRS. One of the poll questions was how respondents felt about the state of Congress, with 51% saying they’d be “better off” of “most of” congressional members were replaced. Another 9% said they’d be worse off and 40% said there’d be no difference.

Bash chuckled when reading the 51% result.

“51% — 51%! — say that they would be better off. 51…I mean, wow,” she said.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN chief national affairs correspondent, argued the numbers have to give incumbents like Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) pause. Collins is facing a Democratic challenge in Maine for the midterms, though her Democratic socialist challenger Graham Platner dropped out as an opposing candidate after sexual assault allegations. Troy Jackson is now running in his place.

“That has to give someone like Susan Collins in Maine and other incumbents on the ballot a little bit of anxiety as well here because any incumbent is running a bit scared,” he said.

The CNN polling also found a third of Democrats now identify as Democratic socialists.

Nia-Malika Henderson, CNN senior political analyst, added Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who is also facing a progressive challenger in Abdul El-Sayed, to the list of politicians who should be scared of the recent numbers.

“Even somebody like Haley Stevens. You’re in Michigan, you’re in the House, you’re trying to get a ticket to the Senate, and you see what those poll numbers are there for her. She isn’t doing so well,” she said.

The survey also found 47% of Democrats and Democrat-leaning voters believe the party needs “major changes,” compared to 26% of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters. Zeleny chalked it up to the battle between traditional Democrats and rising progressives.

“I mean, the fight for the future of the Democratic Party is really an undercurrent in all of these primary races. That’s why that number is so high because it combines people from both sides who think that the change is either too much or not enough. So yes, for the moment, good news for Democrats, but not for long. Perhaps,” he said.

The CNN poll was conducted July 23-27 among more than 1,200 U.S. adults, and it carries a margin of error of 3.8%.

Watch above via CNN.

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