RealClearPolling: JD Vance’s popularity on the rise

CV NEWS FEED // Vice President-elect JD Vance has steadily been gaining the approval of Americans since his nomination in July, RealClearPolling has found.

“In the first Economist/YouGov poll after Trump announced Vance as his running mate, Vance had only a 34% favorability rating, while 42% viewed him unfavorably,” RealClearPolling reported. “This discrepancy was primarily driven by independents, among whom only 24% viewed him favorably, while 41% viewed him unfavorably.”

The summer before the election brought waves of online criticism for Vance, especially regarding the “childless cat lady” quote that resurfaced from a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson. He also faced backlash after he was connected to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 initiative through a foreword he wrote for a book by the president of the organization.

According to RealClearPolling, Vance’s numerous media interviews and podcast appearances began to boost his popularity.

“His performance in the vice-presidential debate also contributed to his improved standing, with 43% of respondents in an Economist/YouGov poll saying he won the debate, compared to only 28% for Tim Walz,” RealClearPolling reported.

Post-election, Vance became the only one of the four presidential and vice presidential candidates to achieve a net-positive favorability rating among Americans, with 44% reporting favorable opinions of the vice president-elect and 43% reporting negative ones.

“This improvement was largely driven by independents, whose net favorability rating for Vance shifted from -17% at the beginning of the campaign to just -3% after the election,” RealClearPolling reported. “Walz was the next most favorable among the remaining candidates, with a net favorability of -1%, followed by Trump at -2% and Harris at -4%.

“Compared to other prominent figures in Trump’s political circle, voters also indicated that they want Vance to have a bigger influence on Trump’s second administration [34%].”