A new Gallup poll released Thursday revealed a growing number of voters are registering as Democrats. However, it also showed in 2025’s second quarter that voters’ faith in the Democratic Party was at an all-time low, even worse than Republican voters’ faith in their own party.
New York U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In her most recent news conference, WAER asked how her party plans to combat the distrust, while capitalizing on the first and second quarter growth in voters registering as Democrats. She said her constituents’ greatest concern lately has centered on the cost of living.
“The fact that groceries are too expensive, housing is too expensive, and transportation and healthcare are too expensive,” she said are top of mind. Then, it’s “access to healthcare, these cuts to Medicaid and Medicare are debilitating and frightening to so many Americans. So guaranteeing healthcare as a right, not a privilege for the wealthy.”
Going forward, she said her party must stay laser focused on bringing down the cost of living, protecting healthcare, then building what she called an Opportunity Agenda.”
“Which will include opportunities for lower cost housing, opportunities for first time home ownership, opportunities for better, more usable education,” which she expanded further, “so much more skills, building much more apprenticeship programs, much more translatable skills learned in college, college for service, paying for people's education and exchange.”
Gillibrand said she is finalizing the messaging, which will also include pre-natal and ongoing healthcare for mothers and their families, as well as healthcare for senior Americans. Those key talking points make up the foundation of what she has loosely called an opportunity and prosperity agenda for the American dream.
“These ideas aren't new. We have always believed in the American dream. We've always believed in success and prosperity for everyone. We just have to focus on those issues over other issues,” she explained.
As for the loss in party confidence reported by the latest Gallup poll, Gillibrand admitted the Democrats’ message gets diluted and lost sometimes, but she has assured her party’s candidates will have the Opportunity Agenda talking points to interpret and explain to their own constituencies within the next few months.
