Dying former congressman Barney Frank tells Democrats their far-left messaging is costing them voters

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Former congressman Barney Frank warned on Sunday that Democrats of going too far left while dying in a hospice of congestive heart failure in Maine.

Frank, 86, was a liberal stalwart who fought to legalize same-sex marriage and helped pass Dodd-Frank, the Wall Street regulations, after the 2008 financial crash.

"We didn’t get to marriage until after these other things had been resolved," Frank said on CNN's "State of the Union." 

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Democrats have been wrestling with their messaging as rising star New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani became the party’s face of progressives.  (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

He added, "And that’s what I’m suggesting that we do today. The analogy is males and female transsexuals playing sports that are for women."

Frank is set to release a book criticizing the far-left wing of the Democratic Party, claiming that they have neglected more pressing issues like economic inequality and instead pushed more progressive causes. The former lawmaker wants Democrats to be more strategic about pushing far-left issues. 

"I understand there’s a lot of anger about that," he continued. "And I think, in the interest of the transgender community, as well as others, it would be better to go at that in a more granular way, and not simply announce that, if you don’t support it, you’re a homophobe."

Frank served in the House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013.

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A new national poll released earlier this month is the latest to indicate that Democrats are facing major problems with their party's image as they try to win back congressional majorities from the Republicans in this year's midterm elections.

Just 28% of Americans questioned in a CNN poll view the Democratic Party positively, with 56% seeing Democrats in an unfavorable light.

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Former Rep. Barney Frank warned Democrats of going too far-left while dying in a hospice of congestive heart failure in Maine.

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Fox News Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.