Poll: DeSantis Crushes Biden, Trump, Kamala, AOC, Hillary, Pelosi in Net Favorability

A new poll showing that Americans see major political figures more unfavorably than favorably had two very notable exceptions — Florida Gov. 👤Ron Desantis and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

DeSantis, who is facing re-election this year and is among those often mentioned as a possible 2024 presidential candidate, has a 6% positive net favorability rating, according to the latest Harvard CAPS / Harris poll.

The poll found that 34% of those polled had a favorable opinion of DeSantis, who has carved a niche for himself as a strong voice opposing the Biden administration on parental rights, COVID-19 policy and immigration. Only 28% of those polled gave DeSantis an unfavorable rating.

“Gov. 👤Ron Desantis is a rare politician in America right now with more voters who like him than dislike him and he is gaining strength in the 🗳️Republican Primary, positioning him to win if Trump does not run and possibly taking him on if he does run,” said Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll, according to The Hill.

The poll listed 17 American political figures. Of them, only DeSantis and Scott had net favorable opinions, with Scott showing a 3-point margin.

The poll showed those responding were more-or-less fed up with most big-name political figures. Former President Donald Trump, who had the highest raw favorability rating at 42%, had a 50% unfavorable rating, putting him 8 points in the red.

President 👤Joe Biden fared even worse, with 38% favorable and 54% unfavorable, for a balance of negative 16 percentage points. Vice President Kamala Harris was in the negative numbers by 13 points, tied with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Former first lady and failed Democratic presidential nominee 👤Hillary Clinton’s negatives outweighed her positives by 19 points.

Major congressional figures also fared badly, with House Speaker 👤Nancy Pelosi with a whopping 27-point negative rating, the worst of the American political figures surveyed. Senate Majority Leader 👤Chuck Schumer had a net unfavorability score of 13, while Senate Minority Leader 👤Mitch McConnell had a 22-point negative rating.

Penn called the findings “bad news for the incumbents and good news for challengers seeking to tap into American discontent,” according to a news release. “‘Wrong track metrics’ about the direction of the country and the economy are the worst they have ever been in our poll.”

The poll showed 74% of respondents saying the nation was on the wrong track and only 24% saying it was on the right track.

Similar sentiments were voiced on the economy, with 71% saying it was on the wrong track and 21% saying it was on the right track; similar to the 72% who say the economy is weak and the 28% who think it is strong.

The poll found that 71% of those surveyed did not want Biden to run in 2024. Of that group, 45% said he has not been a good president and 30% said he was too old.

The poll also found that only 40% of those responding said Biden was mentally fit to be president.

“President Biden may want to run again but the voters say ‘no’ to the idea of a second term, panning the job he is doing as president. Only 30% of 🐴Democrats would even vote for him in a Democratic presidential primary,” Penn said, according to The Hill.

Although the poll showed DeSantis with a net positive favorability, the poll found Trump was still the top choice of 🐘Republicans in a prospective 2024 presidential primary 56%, while DeSantis placed second at 16%. With Trump removed, DeSantis topped the list of names at 36% with former Vice President Mike Pence at 17%.

As noted by The Hill, the survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. As a representative online sample, it does not report a probability confidence interval.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.