'Have to be bold': Dems scramble as data shows Trump throwing away GOP's top vote winner

New data from a private polling memo revealed that the Democratic Party may have an opening to get ahead of Republicans among voters on the issue of crime, which has long been a weak spot for the Democrats, according to a report Monday from Politico.

Conducted by Global Strategy Group, a battleground-district survey found that only 38% of voters trusted Democrats over Republicans with keeping them safe. However, in what Politico wrote was a “hint of hope,” those same voters “swung toward Democrats” after hearing messaging on the issue from party leaders.

“This is where we should be unifying,” said Kim Foxx, a former state’s attorney in Illinois, speaking with Politico. “It’s right there that we don’t have transparency on police killings anymore, that in [the Trump administration’s] effort to go after immigration, they’re cutting funding to strategies that work to reduce violence. … We just have to be bold and call it out with a consistent message.”

Crime has been a top issue for voters, who historically have trusted Republicans far more than Democrats on the matter. In September, a Reuters survey found that the GOP held a 20-point lead over Democrats on the issue of crime, with the matter being a key factor in Trump’s 2024 victory over Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

According to the new survey, however, once voters were exposed to Democratic messaging on the issue, particularly with Democratic lawmakers’ criticisms of cuts to gun-violence prevention programs, Democrats scored higher than Republicans on each of four categories related to crime prevention.

The logical next step, according to Emma Brown, executive director of Giffords and House Majority Forward, a gun-safety advocacy group that commissioned the survey, was for Democrats to actually speak to the issue — and often.

“We do not want people to get shot or stabbed or carjacked,” Brown said, speaking with Politico. “We want to hold people accountable when they break the law. None of that is revolutionary. But we do have to actually say that.”