At Daily Kos, Emily Singer shares some poll stats, which bode poorly for Republicans: As Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office for a second time, he claims to have a “massive” mandate to enact his destructive agenda. But new polling shows that’s far from the truth….A NPR/PBS News/Marist College poll released Wednesday shows that just 44% of Americans view Trump favorably, while 49% view him unfavorably. That’s nearly identical to the 45% approval rating Trump has in Civiqs’ tracking poll….The fact that Trump is viewed unfavorably before he even takes office is a warning sign for his tenure. The start of a presidential term is usually when a president is at their high-water mark of approval…..The NPR/PBS News/Marist College poll has other warning signs for Trump….Just 31% of Americans say the tariff policy Trump plans to enact would help the economy. That should be a flashing red warning light for Trump, showing that Americans will likely blame him if those tariffs cause prices to skyrocket, as economists expect….What’s more, 62% of Americans oppose Trump’s plan to pardon people who either pleaded guilty or were convicted of crimes for their role in the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021….It’s not just Trump who is unpopular among voters. Trump’s Cabinet nominees are also underwater….Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, has just a 19% approval rating in the NPR/PBS News/Marist College survey. And the survey was conducted before Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, when Democratic senators laid bare the nominee’s abhorrent behavior of alleged sexual assault, womanizing, on-the-job drinking, and misogynistic remarks….Trump’s co-president, Elon Musk, is broadly unpopular. Only 37% of Americans have a favorable view of him, while 46% view him unfavorably, according to the poll. That’s also a warning sign for Trump.’

If you were wondering “Who were the strongest Senate and House candidates of 2024?,” Nathaniel Rakich brings the answer at 538?abcnews.com: “One general trend here is that Democratic Senate candidates tended to punch above their weight. Democrats outperformed Harris in 23 of the 32 races in the table, helping them to win Senate races in four states that Trump carried: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin. A big reason for this is probably that Democrats had more incumbents running for reelection than Republicans did (15 to 8), and, while incumbency advantage isn’t what it used to be, it’s still not nothing….” Here’s the chart showing the derails, minus color coding:

“Democrats certainly don’t want to replicate the destructive, hyperpartisan style that has characterized the GOP,” Julian E. Zelizer writes in “Partisanship Has Worked for Democrats Before. It Can Again” at The New Republic. “As a party that is committed to the continued role of government in American life and the imperative of governance, Democrats must rightly insist on maintaining guardrails that contain their own fiercest instincts. They don’t want to become a second party willing to send the nation into financial default simply to score partisan points; nor do they want to undermine the integrity of democratic institutions in the short-term pursuit of power….But in the space between bipartisanship and hyperpartisanship, there is a wide-ranging world of responsible partisanship within which congressional Democrats can operate, as became clear in the recent struggle over government funding….What are some of the partisan strategies Democrats can deploy in the year ahead? Most important will be for congressional Democrats to remain disciplined. Voting the party line and remaining on the same page will be essential if the House and Senate caucuses want to act as a coherent bloc, as they did with this battle over the continuing resolution, thereby forcing narrow Republican majorities to take the difficult positions that Trump will push on them. Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer need to make clear that any member who decides to go rogue will lose support from the party. Jeffries and Schumer must work closely with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to leverage the purse strings as rewards for loyalty….Given the stakes of the battle ahead, they must make clear to all Democrats that any serious dissension will come at a high cost. Democrats should work in unison to force issues onto the floor, such as proposals for additional federal investment in deindustrialized areas, to push Republicans into uncomfortable positions that will reveal the limitations of their populist agenda.”