Former Vice President Mike Pence is becoming more unpopular among Republican voters as former President Donald Trump remains the most favorable candidate in the GOP field, this week’s Morning Consult survey found.
Trump has remained consistent, with 76 percent of potential Republican primary voters viewing him favorably. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis comes 12 points behind, with 64 percent of respondents viewing him favorably. Trump and DeSantis are tied in terms of unfavorable ratings at 22 percent each.
Anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has seen a tremendous boost since the start of the poll’s tracking, as most had never heard of him. Now, 59 percent view him favorably, compared to 17 percent who do not, and only 14 percent say they have never heard of him.
Both South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have favorable ratings above water — 43-16 percent and 46-21 percent, respectively. However, Pence has failed to significantly improve his standing. While he technically has a net positive approval rating, Morning Consult finds he is “becoming more unpopular.”
Per the poll:
Potential Republican primary voters are only slightly more likely to hold favorable opinions than unfavorable opinions about Pence (46% to 42%). That 4-percentage-point gap between the two figures marks a low point for the former vice president, whose popularity has been on a steady decline since mid-July.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie continues to have the worst favorable rating, as 48 percent have an unfavorable view of him, compared to 26 percent who do not.
That portion of the survey was taken from August 31 to September 3, 2023, among 855 potential Republican primary voters. It has a ± four percent margin of error.
Pence has continued to distance himself from his former running mate, making waves after asserting that Trump essentially asked him to disregard the Constitution after the 2020 election.
RELATED — Mike Pence: Trump Asked Me to Overturn the Election, “Reject the Vote Outright”
Instead of standing in solidarity with Trump after another indictment — this time by a Washington, D.C., grand jury regarding January 6 — Pence stated that the indictment served as “an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.”
Trump eventually hit back on Truth Social, making it clear that he “never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution.”
“WOW, it’s finally happened! Liddle’ Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side,” Trump said.
“I never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution, or that Mike was ‘too honest.’ He’s delusional, and now he wants to show he’s a tough guy,” Trump continued. “I once read a major magazine article on Mike. It said he was not a very good person. I was surprised, but the article was right. Sad!”
