CNN’s Harry Enten Reports an ‘All-Time High’ Percentage of Americans Think the Dems Are ‘Too Liberal’

CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten reported on Thursday that the shifting ideological makeup of the Democratic Party has an “all-time high” percentage of Americans calling the party “too liberal.”

In a conversation with anchor Kate Bolduan, Enten broke down the shift in the Democratic Party, noting that conservative Democrats are all but extinct, while far left-leaning Democrats are ascendant.

Enten began by breaking down the numbers inside the Democratic Party, “Results from that special election, that Democratic primary in the 11th district in New Jersey, speak to a larger point within the Democratic Party, and that is that the far left is significantly more powerful than they once were. This sort of gives the game away here. Democrats who identify as very liberal or conservative—you know, there used to be a lot of conservative Democrats, right?” He continued:

Back in 1999, 26% of Democrats self-identified as conservative. Just 5% said that they were very liberal. It was a smidgen. Now that far left has gained considerably in power. Look at this: now we’re talking about a fifth of Democrats, 21% say they’re very liberal. That conservative part of the Democratic Party? Adios, amigos. Could be just 8%.

And when you combine the 21% who are very liberal with those who say that they’re somewhat liberal, we’re talking about three in five Democrats who identify as either somewhat liberal or very liberal, with the very liberals being a much larger portion of the party. The far left, which used to just be a smidgen within the Democratic Party, has gained considerable power, as you saw in New Jersey’s 11th district.

Bolduan followed up, “What about democratic socialists, like the likes of, you know, you’ve got Bernie Sanders or Zohran Mamdani here in New York City? Where does that line up?”

Enten replied, “Okay, so on a separate question where essentially CNN asked this last year, which was, “Okay, Democrats who think of themselves as democratic socialists among all Democrats, including those independents who lean towards the Democratic Party.” Look at this: we’re talking about a third—a third of all Democrats who identify as democratic socialists. Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani are not alone.”

“They are a considerable part of the Democratic base at this point. And more than that, if you look at Democrats under the age of 35, they are nearly half—nearly half of the Democratic Party. Look at this: 42% of Democrats think of themselves as democratic socialists under the age of 35, just like Zohran Mamdani. What happened in New York City is not some aberration, right? It is not something that just happened in New York City. It is something that we are seeing grow within the Democratic Party at this particular point. When we’re talking about 42% of Democrats under the age of 35 identifying as democratic socialists and a third of all Democrats—my goodness gracious,” he concluded with his signature flare.

Bolduan asked, “So if the ideology of the Democratic Party is shifting or changing, how are people feeling about it?”

Enten answered, “Okay, so we’re talking about the Democratic base, right? But what about all Americans, right? How about all voters? Voters who say the Democrats are now too liberal—look at this percentage: it was 42% in ’96, 48% in 2013, now 58% in 2025 of all voters say that the Democratic Party is too liberal. The Democrats are moving to the left, the far left is gaining power, and there could be some electoral repercussions because what we see right now is voters—the clear majority—say that they are too liberal”.

Bolduan ended it there, “This is really interesting. Thanks so much, Harry.”

Enten later shared the clip on social media, noting, “An all-time high, 58%, of voters say the Dem Party is too liberal.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!