WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican vice presidential nominee Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance is less popular among voters than his Democratic opponent, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, according to a new poll from The Washington Post. Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research,
Both Vance and Walz came into the spotlight this summer as relatively unknown political figures. As both candidates prepare to address a massive audience in next week's vice presidential debate, Democrats are more positive about Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris, while Republicans are more positive about Vance and former President Donald Trump.
New poll findings strengthen challenge to Republican presidential primary Voting begins in more and more states.
Vance is less liked than Walz
The poll shows that negative sentiments about Vance are significantly more widespread than positive views. About half of registered voters have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of Vance, on a scale ranging from 100 to 150. About 4 out of 10 at the end of JulyWhile about one-fourth have a somewhat or very favourable opinion about him, an equal number do not know enough about him.
Walz, by contrast, is more well-liked. About 3 in 10 voters have a negative opinion of Walz, while 4 in 10 have a positive opinion and 3 in 10 don’t know much about him.
This difference in favorability extends to the candidates’ bases. About 7 in 10 Democratic voters have a positive opinion of Walz, while about 6 in 10 Republican voters have a favorable opinion of Vance.
Walz is stronger than Vance among men and women
Democratic candidates tend to get more support from women, while Republicans do better among men. The difference is clear in the popularity figures for Trump and Harris — but Walz is more liked than Vance among both men and women.
About 4 in 10 male and female voters have a positive view of Walz, while about 3 in 10 men and about one-quarter of women have a positive view of Vance.
Walz's popularity also exceeds Vance's among voters over the age of 60. Half of voters in this group have a somewhat or very positive opinion of Walz, while about 3 in 10 have a similar opinion of Vance.
Walz is slightly weaker than Harris among black voters and women
Despite his strength over Vance in some areas, there are also some key Democratic groups where Walz still has work to do. About three-quarters of black adults have a favorable view of Harris, while about half say the same about Walz. Women also view them more positively; about 3 in 10 women don't know enough about Walz to form an opinion.
However, in general, neither of the vice presidential candidates performs better than Harris or Trump across key demographic groups, and they are less well-known than the presidential candidates, even among groups that are traditionally part of each party's base. For example, nearly one-quarter of white voters without a college degree don't know enough to say anything about Vance, and nearly 4 in 10 voters between the ages of 18 and 29 have no opinion of Walz.
This means that as his national recognition grows, his popularity will continue to change.
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The survey of 1,771 registered voters was conducted September 12-16, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to represent the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for registered voters is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.