Poll: Voters Want Jeffries & Schumer to Fight AI Deregulation

On Friday, Demand Progress released a poll showing that large majorities of Democratic and Independent voters want Democratic leadership to fight an attempt by President Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Steve Scalise to ban states from passing or enforcing AI laws.

On Monday, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries avoided taking a stance on the issue, saying that it “hasn't been brought to the leadership level yet.” The poll shows that 70 percent of Democratic voters and 79 percent of Independent voters want congressional Democratic leadership to oppose a state AI preemption bill, with only 15 percent of Democrats and four percent of Independents saying Democratic leaders should support one. Demand Progress recently led a coalition of 250+ groups urging Congress to oppose adding a ban on state AI laws to a must-pass defense spending bill and led a campaign that drove more than 61,000 petition actions to Congress.

• Read the Poll Results

Demand Progress’s online poll of 2,257 likely voters was conducted by Tavern Research from Nov. 24, 2025 to Nov. 25, 2025. Other key findings include:

• 61 percent of Democratic voters and 68 percent of Independent voters said they’d be less likely to support a Democratic member of Congress who supported a bill to prevent states from regulating AI
• Only 15 percent of Democratic voters and 14 percent of Independent voters said a Democratic member of Congress’s support for a state preemption bill would make them more likely to support that member
• 57 percent of Democratic voters and 67 percent of Independent voters would have a less favorable view of Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer if they supported a preemption bill

• 56 percent of Democratic voters and 62 percent of Independent voters want Jeffries and Schumer to “work hard to block Republicans’ policy to prevent states from regulating AI”
• 81 percent of both Democratic and Independent voters, and 74 percent of Republican voters, believe that “large technology companies have too much influence over AI policy”
• 71 percent of both Democratic and Independent voters, and 62 percent of Republican voters, are worried that “the U.S. government will not regulate artificial intelligence enough”

“Democratic and Independent voters overwhelmingly want to see Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer fighting Donald Trump and Big Tech’s attempt to ban states from enacting AI safeguards, not back down and compromise,” said Demand Progress Policy Director Emily Peterson-Cassin. “It’s not enough for Leader Jeffries to say that the issue hasn’t been brought to him yet. Voters are angry about Big Tech’s rogue AI telling teens to commit suicide and they want to see their congressional leaders fighting back.”