Yes, he's an election-denying Trump guy and a bit of a right-wing bible thumping whack job. But he's squarely #1! I'm sure Donald approves.
47% View New Speaker Favorably
Rasmussen Poling
Tuesday, November 07, 2023
New House Speaker Mike Johnson begins his term as the most popular of the four top congressional leaders.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters have a favorable impression of Johnson, including 25% with a Very Favorable opinion of the Louisiana Republican. Twenty-nine percent (29%) view Johnson unfavorably, including 18% with a Very Favorable impression. Another 24% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Johnson was elected October 25 as the 56th Speaker of the House, replacing former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Republican. In September, McCarthy was viewed favorably by 40% of voters. All the other top congressional leaders – House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (34%), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (37%) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (26%) – had lower favorability ratings in July.
The survey of 995 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on October 31-November 2, 2023 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Thirty-three percent (33%) believe Johnson will be a better Speaker than Kevin McCarthy, while 31% think Johnson will be worse and 31% say Johnson and McCarthy are about the same. Another 13% are not sure.
Forty-one percent (41%) believe Johnson is more effective as a leader than Jeffries, while 29% think Johnson is less effective than his Democratic counterpart. Fifteen percent (15%) say Johnson and Jeffries are about the same in terms of their effectiveness as leaders.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Republicans view Johnson as a more effective leader than Jeffries, as do 28% of Democrats and 37% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Forty-five percent (45%) of Democrats, 13% of Republicans and 28% of unaffiliated voters consider Johnson less effective than Jeffries.
Johnson is viewed at least somewhat favorably by 63% of Republicans, 35% of Democrats and 43% of unaffiliated voters.
Forty-five percent (45%) of Republicans think Johnson will be a better Speaker than McCarthy, an opinion shared by 25% of Democrats and 28% of unaffiliated voters. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats, 12% of Republicans and 23% of unaffiliated voters believe Johnson will be worse than McCarthy. Thirty percent (30%) of Republicans, 28% of Democrats and 35% of unaffiliated voters view Johnson and McCarthy as being about the same.
Significantly more men (54%) than women voters (40%) have a favorable impression of Johnson, and men are also much more likely to think Johnson will be a better Speaker than McCarthy.
Voters 65 and older are most likely to have a Very Unfavorable opinion of McCarthy, while those under 40 are most likely to answer “not sure” when asked their impression of the new Speaker of the House.
Black voters are less likely than whites or other minorities to think Johnson will be a better Speaker than McCarthy.
President Joe Biden’s strongest supporters are least likely to view Johnson as an improvement on his predecessor. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 51% think Johnson will be a worse Speaker than McCarthy. By contrast, among those who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, just six percent (6%) believe Johnson will be worse than McCarthy, and 47% say the new Speaker will be better.
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