Iowa Republicans voiced their support for Mitt Romney's running mate Paul Ryan—and their opposition to Gov. Chris Christie—in a new, 2016-oriented poll.
Iowa Republicans voiced their support for former vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan in a new poll.
A new Des Moines Register poll found Ryan to be extremely popular, with 73% of Iowa Republicans favoring the Wisconsin Republican.
Ryan is unusual in that he has the support of Republicans both on and off Capitol Hill, NBC News White House correspondent Chuck Todd said on Morning Joe. He reminded the panel of the senior Republican leadership aide who just last week told Buzzfeed that “Paul Ryan is the Jesus of our conference. If Paul gives something his blessing, it brings the votes.”
“The real reason why so many Republicans were in favor of this deal is Paul Ryan,” Todd said of the budget deal Ryan negotiated with Democrats.
Mike Huckabee—who has been in the headlines recently for considering another presidential run—and Rick Santorum ranked second and third most popular, respectively, among Republicans polled by the paper.
Though popular in the Northeast, Chris Christie might struggle in Iowa if he were to run, the New Jersey Governor had just 51% favorability rating amongst the GOP in Iowa and the highest unpopularity ratings amongst his own party—30% of Iowa Republicans don’t like him.
But none of the ten Republicans the poll suggested to voters in the state garnered the same sort of affection from their party that Hillary Clinton garnered among Iowa Democrats, where 89% said they had a positive opinion of the former Secretary of State.
But just as her party loves her, Republicans really hate her—59% of Republicans had a “very unfavorable” view (the most negative rating possible) of Clinton.
“Clinton’s score is eye-popping and shows she is viewed more favorably than any Democrat or Republican by a big margin,” Iowa Democratic operative Jeff Link told the Des Moines Register.
Vice President Joe Biden is also popular with Iowa Democrats—71% gave him a popular opinion.
The poll surveyed 650 Iowans over 18 between Dec. 8 -11th by Selzer % Co. It has a margin of error of +/- 7.3% for Republicans and +/- 8%
