RFK Jr., Taylor Swift Viewed More Favorably by Voters Than Trump, Biden, and DeSantis: Poll

Echelon Insights’ monthly verified voter survey for June asked voters to rate the favorability of some of the biggest figures in American life.

AP/Ashley Landis, file
Taylor Swift performs during the opener of her Eras tour at Glendale, Arizona in March. AP/Ashley Landis, file

A new favorability survey found that some of the biggest names in politics today are also some of the least popular public figures in America, even as the race for the White House heads toward a 2020 rematch in 2024.

The Echelon Insights monthly verified voter survey for June asked voters to rate the favorability of some of the biggest figures in American life, ranging from pop star Taylor Swift to President Trump. 

The survey then ranked the 15 figures by their net favorability rating, which represents the difference between their favorability and unfavorability ratings.

What it found is that some of the biggest names in politics are also the least popular people in America. Vice President Pence was the least popular person on the list, at no. 15, with a net favorability rating of negative 22 points.

Mr. Trump came in at no. 14 with a negative 18-point favorability rating. President Biden was no. 13 with a negative 12-point net favorability rating.

Vice President Harris was no. 12, also with a negative 12-point net favorability rating. Governor DeSantis was no. 11 with a negative nine-point net favorability rating.

The most popular person that the survey collected data on was actor Matthew McConaughey, who chose not to run for governor of Texas after toying with the idea in 2021, with a 50-point net approval rating.

Ms. Swift was the second most popular individual polled, with a 27-point net approval rating. Attorney Robert Kennedy Jr. was the most popular presidential candidate, with a 22-point net approval rating.

The survey also asked voters for their opinions on political parties, and the Democratic Party was narrowly more popular than the Republican Party, with a 45 percent favorability rating compared to the GOP’s 42 percent favorability rating. The numbers, though, were within the poll’s 3.9-point margin of error. 

The results of the survey reinforce an issue looming in the background of American politics since the last presidential election: that most Americans do not want a rematch between Messrs. Trump and Biden in 2024.

For comparison, a CNN SSRS poll from late June found that a plurality, 36 percent, of respondents did not view favorably either the president or the former chief executive.

The unfavorability of both candidates is a high-water mark for recent presidential elections. In the final CNN poll ahead of the 2020 election, only 5 percent of voters reported having a negative opinion of both Messrs. Trump and Biden. In 2012, only 3 percent of voters reported having a negative opinion of both President Obama and Senator Romney.

At this point in the 2015 election cycle, Secretary Clinton’s favorability ratings were also better than Mr. Biden’s are today. In July 2015, CNN’s monthly poll had Ms. Clinton at a negative five points in net favorability, a significant improvement on Mr. Biden’s favorability today.

Putting a point on Americans’ distaste for Messrs. Biden and Trump, the Echelon Insight survey found that in a matchup between the two presidents and Ms. Swift, the pop star would carry 7 percent of the vote as an independent candidate.

Despite their unpopularity, Messrs. Trump and Biden look increasingly likely to win their partys’ nominations. On the GOP side, Mr. DeSantis’s campaign appears to have stalled out for the time being.

FiveThirtyEight’s average of polls has Mr. Trump at 52 percent support on average in a GOP primary compared to Mr. DeSantis’s 23.3 percent.

Even in a head-to-head matchup, the Echelon insights poll found that Mr. Trump leads Mr. DeSantis by 28 points, 60 percent to 32 percent.

On the Democratic side, Mr. Biden leads Mr. Kennedy, the next highest-polling candidate, by 51 points, according to the Echelon Insights survey.


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