During a segment on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on August 20, 2025, host Joe Scarborough addressed the ongoing issue of voter registration trends in the United States. Scarborough noted that Republicans are currently leading in new voter registrations and asked panelist Molly Jong-Fast for her perspective on why Democrats are falling behind.
Jong-Fast responded: “So this is the $24 million dollar question, why are Democrats not… um… why are the polls bad? Why are they not breaking through? And I think it’s a couple things. I think one is, the people who are breaking through, are brave. Right? They talk like humans, they make the case. And again, it’s like Pritzker’s chief of staff told me, it’s not necessarily left versus center, it’s fight versus cave. And the people who fight get support. And the people who cave, or are mealy mouthed, or are very sort of corporatist-y, that crew, the crew that’s afraid, cannot break through. Does not appeal to voters.”
She continued by identifying several politicians as examples of those she sees as “fighters,” stating: “Chris Murphy, Sherrod Brown, Mamdani, AOC…”
Scarborough referenced recent data showing that Democrats have lost ground to Republicans in all 30 states where party registration is tracked between 2020 and 2024. According to a report from The New York Times and cited by InteractivePolls on social media (https://t.co/PkGX9ST7pW), Republicans gained approximately 2.4 million registered voters during this period while Democrats lost about 2.1 million.
Conservative activist Scott Presler has been credited by some with contributing significantly to Republican gains in voter registration efforts.
The discussion reflects ongoing debates within both parties about messaging strategies and grassroots organization as each side prepares for upcoming elections.
