Disclaimer: The survey reported on was commissioned by the DNC and executed by Gabe McKenna in his capacity as Engagement and Recruitment Officer.

As the first Democratic Survey was distributed two weeks ago, a continuation of the commission was ordered. Regularly, meaning every two weeks, a new survey would be conducted and its results analyzed. Said survey sought to both gather new data and compare old and new insights as to see how opinions have shifted over time.

The survey posed to members was an yet again extensive assessment comprised of 9 detailed questions, concerning 3 key areas: Regarding the Party, Engagement Feedback, and Approval Ratings.

Regarding the Party

Checking back and getting a fresh snapshot of the demographical makeup of the party was important this time around as well. From gaging an relatively even distribution of newer and older members as well as the fact that an astonishing 83% have always been Democrats, trends from the first survey largely held up. However, a larger amount, 66%, have leadership experience either in the party or outside of it.

In a shocking improvement upon the last survey, 92% expressed that they were satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the party, while last time only 60% held such a view. This is a resounding endorsement of the work done by the party in the last few weeks not only politically but within the community as well.

Like last time, respondents were also asked to select words from a list to describe the party. Multiple choices were allowed. A few changes in perception were certainly due to the larger sample size, but overall the results are still shocking. Inactive, one of the most chosen words in the first survey, sank to 0% usage, while Active rose to 67%, a complete flip. Other frequently used words for this Democratic Party were Friendly with 83% and Well-organized with 75% support, and even Accessible which rose from 0% to 58%! Clearly the efforts of the leadership are paying off in the eyes of the party.

The ideological makeup of the party is still varied, but has shifted slightly towards identifying itself as Liberal. 75% used that term, while 67% used Moderate and 58% Progressive.

Engagement Feedback

The last survey was also used as a vehicle to gage support for several engagement initiatives proposed by the Engagement and Recruitment Officer and other DNC Officials. So this time the question was, how successful were the initiatives in engaging the party members, and how much did they enjoyed them? From the Convention Competition to the Lottery and even plain Donating, members of were asked to state and rate their experience with everything.

Unsurprisingly so the big winner was the Convention Competition, an idea by Vice Chair Hull and executed by Eng & Rec Officer McKenna, which 92% of members participated in and everyone enjoyed! But also Donating and participating in the Lottery engaged at least half of the membership. Other activities such as Debates, Auctions, and Raffles proved popular with those who participated, gaining 80-100% positive feedback. The training programs, however, haven’t been fully implemented yet, causing them to remain a topic to focus on until the next survey. Especially since a trial period is in place.

Approval Ratings

In many ways the most exciting and nerve wrecking part of any politician’s career are approval ratings. It is the most direct feedback to get: hard numbers. In this survey no one was left unjudged, every member of the party leadership, the Senators, the Speaker, the DNC as well as the party and DNC overall were examined. This time the previous ratings were also contrasted with the new ones. We note that we focused on comparing individuals rating across both surveys rather than positions since several have been newly filled.

Party Leadership

New House Leader Chan* and new Senate Leader Pluribus were highly approved of, gaining 100% and 84% approving or somewhat approving respectively. Deputy House Leader Chuck* massively improved upon his 60% approval rating from the last survey, with a whopping 91% approving or somewhat approving. With a new whipping team in place**, Chief Whip Loulou and Deputy Whip Hersey, got 92% and 67% approving or somewhat approving respectively, meaning every member of the party leadership has more than 50% approval now!

* This person is also a voting member of the DNC

**Deputy Whip Alex has received the position after this survey was conducted and was thus not included

Other Elected Official

Senator Morales, no longer Senate Leader and up for re-election, received 92% approval, a slight dip. Speaker Graves, who was on the previous survey as Chief Whip, got 83% approval, a notable decrease from his 100% prior.

DNC

The DNC boasts the only member whose approval rating has neither increased nor decreased despite his promotion, new Party Chair Gabe McKenna holds steady with 100% fully approving. Yes, you read that right. Kyouto Chan and Chuck hold 100% and 92% approval for their total service, while new Vice Chair and longserving DNC member Hull received 75% approval, almost double from the last survey! The one DNC member whose approval decreased is Rockefeller, who now only has 45% approval.

Hard work and activity seems to be paying off for members of the DNC especially, but overall there seems to be more excitement around the leading figures in the party than there was in a long time.

Overall

The true shock for this reporter, however, was the exponential increase in view of the party and the DNC overall. Where in the last survey they squeaked by with approval ratings of 60% and 50%, now a mind-blowing 100% and 83% respectively approve or somewhat approve! That 40% and 33% increase is phenomenal news for party and DNC officials!

The action, resolve, and initiative taken by many in the party, leadership or not, seems to have made the Democratic Party into the comeback story of this fall! One can only hope that the hard work will continue from the party for the party.