The Economist and YouGov released a new poll earlier this week… and they found House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on a shocking upswing.
The House speaker has seen his approval rating rise 10 points since December, for a stunning net gain of 16 points.
Between May 13 and May 16, pollsters surveyed 1,500 adult citizens, including 1321 registered voters. The pollsters used “web-based interviews,” and they estimated the margin of error at 3 percent or less.
More to the point, the pollsters found some good news for McCarthy.
McCarthy has seen his net favorability ratings rise well above water. 40 percent of all respondents viewed McCarthy favorably, compared to only 36 percent viewing him unfavorably. A whopping 65 percent of Trump voters rated McCarthy favorably. Every racial demographic favors McCarthy, and so does every income bracket.
Plus, the House speaker is rising above the competition’s favorability ratings. 42 percent of respondents approved of McCarthy’s job performance, compared to only 34 percent disapproving. 67 percent of Trump voters approved, and — again — so did a majority in every racial demographic and every income bracket.
McCarthy has seen his fortunes rise since December’s poll of 1500 citizens and 1321 registered voters. Between December 17 and 20, McCarthy was pulling an approval rating eight points below water, with his favorability rating even worse. Back then, only 32 percent of respondents approved.
In other words, McCarthy saw his approval rating rise by 16 points in less than six months.
However, the new poll comes with some limits.
Many Americans still don’t know very much about McCarthy. A whopping 24 percent of respondents still know too little about McCarthy to have an opinion on McCarthy’s job performance. In December, that number was only slightly higher, at 29 percent.
In other words, McCarthy may see some volatile swings in his approval rating, whereas Trump became known for his stable approval.
But, for now, McCarthy is at a high.
The Horn editorial team