A new mainstream poll found that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) ranks #1 in terms of highest net approval rating among all major American politicians.
The survey was conducted October 12-13 by the Center for American Political Studies (CAPS) at Harvard University, The Harris Poll, and HarrisX.
The poll asked respondents to rate top political figures in the U.S. as either very favorable, favorable, unfavorable, very unfavorable, never heard of them, or no opinion.
The politicians ranked in order were DeSantis (+6), former Vice President Mike Pence (+4), South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott (+3), former President Donald Trump (0), Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (0), Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz (0), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (-3), President Joe Biden (-8), Arizona Democrat Senator Kyrsten Sinema (-9), Vice President Kamala Harris (-10), Democrat Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (-12), New York Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (-12), twice failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (-13), West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin (-15), Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (-22), and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (-22).
DeSantis is widely seen by many as the future of the Republican Party. His recent handling of Hurricane Ian has earned him praise from top political rivals, including Biden, who said that DeSantis was “pretty remarkable.”
Other notable takeaways from the poll included:
- Republican Party leaders were seen by the public as focusing on all the top issues that the American people care about: Inflation, the economy, and immigration. Democrats were seen as being disconnected from voters as voters saw Democrat Party leaders focusing on January 6th, women’s rights, and climate change, which ranked 19th, 5th, and 8th, respectively.
- Biden’s student loan bailout made voters more likely to vote Republican to Democrat, 41% to 35%, while 24% said it did not impact their vote.
- The U.S. Military, police, and Amazon ranked as the most trusted U.S. institutions.
- The majority of voters opposed Biden’s energy agenda by 8%. 80% said that the U.S. should emphasize lower prices and energy independence, while only 20% said that the U.S. should emphasize higher gasoline prices and climate change.
- The majority of voters, +24%, said Biden was responsible for high gas prices.
- 65% of voters said that the transition to different types of fuel should be a slow and gradual process. The same percentage of voters said the administration should unleash American energy production rather than ease sanctions on hostile foreign nations like Venezuela and Iran.
- 68% of voters said that Biden was too old to hold office, and 55% said they had doubts about his mental fitness.