Only three in ten Republican primary voters hold favorable views of former Vice President Mike Pence, earning him the second-worst rating of any Republican presidential candidate behind former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), according to a national poll.
The Wall Street Journal poll, conducted by Fabrizio, Lee, & Associated and GBAO, found that 63 percent of Republican primary voter respondents see Pence in an unfavorable light, including 36 percent who see him “very unfavorably.” Conversely, only 30 percent hold positive perceptions. In other words, his net rating among GOP voters is -33.
Former Vice President Mike Pence visits “Fox & Friends” at Fox News Channel studios on November 16, 2022, in New York City (John Lamparski/Getty Images).
His favorability has dropped considerably since April’s Wall Street Journal poll, when 54 percent of the population saw him positively and 35 percent viewed him negatively. This marks a staggering 52-point swing in the wrong direction in five months’ time.
Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), with a net favorability rating of -55 among Republicans, is in even worse shape than Pence. Only 18 percent view Christie in a positive light, while 73 percent disapprove of him.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at a town hall-style event at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College on June 06, 2023, in Manchester, New Hampshire (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images).
Former President Donald Trump, the leading GOP candidate by a wide margin, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) hold the strongest net ratings in the field at +52 and +46, respectively.Three in four Republican primary voters find Trump favorable, while just twenty-three percent do not. Similarly, DeSantis is liked by 70 percent of GOP voters and disliked by 24 percent.
US President Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech for the Republican Party nomination for reelection during the final day of the Republican National Convention from the South Lawn of the White House on August 27, 2020, in Washington, DC. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images).
The pair topped the field in April, with DeSantis holding a slightly better rating than Trump, but his 84 percent favorability rating from back then has dropped considerably, while his unfavorability registered 15 points less than it does now.
Former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) is 28 points above water, with 54 percent having positive perceptions and 28 percent seeing her negatively. Her fellow Palmetto State politician, Sen Tim Scott (R-SC), fares better, with a 64 percent approval rating and a 12 percent unfavorability rating.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has become the target of his rivals following his ascent in the polls, is liked by 55 percent of the GOP electorate, while just over a quarter of them see him negatively, the poll reveals.
The pollsters sampled 1,500 registered voters from August 24-30, including 600 Republican primary voters. The margin of error is ± 2.5 percentage points.
