‘He’s been a drag’: JD Vance’s unpopularity is unprecedented, polling expert says ahead of debate

If the 2024 presidential election boils down to a popularity contest, Senator JD Vance may be in trouble.

The Republican vice presidential candidate is currently suffering from a negative-11 favorability rating, according to polling reviewed byCNN’s Harry Enten.

During a recent segment on the network, Enten discussed the gulf between Vance’s dismal likability scores and those of his Democratic challenger, Governor Tim Walz, who enjoys a plus four favorability rating in the same poll. The two candidates will face off on Tuesday night for the vice presidential debate.

“Oy vey, when it comes to JD Vance,” Enten said. “This is the net favorable ratings. Look at that minus-11 points for JD Vance — no bueno. Let’s jump to the other side of the screen. Tim Walz, look at that, a plus-four net favorability rating, the highest of any of these four folks on the screen.”

The other two “folks on the screen” were Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Harris has a plus one favorability rating and Trump has a minus-nine — not great, but better than his running mate.

Enten said Vance’s stark lack of popularity is likely actively damaging the Republican 2024 ticket.

“Right now, the Democrats are better liked than the Republicans, but Walz is slightly better liked than Kamala Harris,” he said. “JD Vance has actually, if anything, been a drag on the Republican side of the ticket, while Tim Walz has actually, if anything, helped Kamala Harris up a little bit.”

He said that the “bottom line” was that “negative-11 points is no good,” and was impressed by Walz’s score in the current highly-polarized US political landscape.

According to Enten, the only other vice presidential candidate to score in Vance’s range was Dan