With the 2024 U.S. presidential election fast approaching, American voters may find themselves sticking with the least popular major party candidate in decades, according to a poll released Friday by the Pew Research Center.
The poll, which collected responses from 8,638 voters between May 13 and 19, found that the number of people with unfavorable opinions of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden is higher now than in previous polls dating back to 1988.
In the last election, when Trump and Biden faced off, 13% of voters had an unfavorable opinion of either candidate. That percentage has now nearly doubled, with 25% of respondents expressing dissatisfaction with both candidates.
Only in 2016, when Hillary Clinton faced Trump, did dislike of the candidates reach that level, with 20% saying they disliked both Clinton and Trump.
Prior to 2016, since 1988, the number of respondents who disliked both major candidates had never exceeded 13%.
Trump vs Biden
A quarter of respondents said they disliked both Biden and Trump, while 34% said they supported Biden and disapproved of Trump, and another 36% countered by saying they supported Trump but not Biden. Just 3% had a favorable view of both candidates.
Notably, Biden's favorability rating has fallen by 9 percentage points since his victory in 2020. Trump's favorability rating has remained roughly steady, with 37% viewing him favorably in 2016 compared to 42% in 2020.
Through 2024, Trump had the lowest percentage of respondents who viewed him favorably, but now his share is on par with Biden's. Only Mitt Romney came close to this level of unpopularity, with only 38% of respondents viewing him favorably in 2012.
How are other politicians polling?
About 36% of respondents said they had a favorable view of Kamala Harris, while 3% said they had never heard of the vice president.
While 24% of respondents said they had a favorable view of Mike Johnson, a staggering 37% said they had never heard of the Republican House Speaker.
Chuck Schumer was viewed favorably by 27% of respondents, while 25% said they had no idea who he was.
