New polling data suggests that Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance is growing in unpopularity among voters as time goes on, likely due to the electorate learning more about his far right views, which they may not have known about previously.
Vance was selected by Donald Trump to be his running mate in mid-July. During the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Vance kept largely hidden his more extreme viewpoints — including his belief that there shouldn’t be exceptions for abortion based on rape or incest, that no-fault divorce should be limited or gotten rid of completely, and his disparaging remarks against some women choosing to pursue careers over starting families, deriding such individuals in the past, including Vice President Kamala Harris, as “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives.”
Many voters were previously largely unaware of Vance’s views, but new data from Blueprint polls, a Democratic-leaning polling firm, suggests that more exposure to Vance’s public comments has led to less support for him from the electorate.
Blueprint conducted two sets of polls, one in mid-July right after Vance was named Trump’s vice presidential running mate, and one in early August, and compared the changes in opinion among voters. According to their findings, Vance, who started with a -7-point favorability rating, has dropped to a minus-11-point rating.
The polls also examined voters’ views on Vance and how they’ve changed since he was announced as the GOP’s vice presidential nominee. According to the poll, the most common terms associated with Vance were “conservative,” “anti-woman” and “weird.” Respondents also increased their rate of using the word “extreme” to describe him, which jumped by 13 points between the polls conducted in July and the one in August. Positive words like “young” and “smart” also dropped between the two polls.
Fifty percent of respondents said they had heard of his derisory comments about single women with careers as “childless cat ladies,” with 55 percent of those who were familiar with his remarks saying they were bothered by his use of that phrase. Fewer were aware of his views on abortion, but 62 percent of those who said they did know about them said they were bothered by his use of the word “inconvenient” to describe people who have been raped and who may want to terminate a pregnancy.
The Blueprint poll confirms other surveys that have similarly showcased how, as voters learn more about Vance and his past statements, they become less enthralled by him as a candidate.
Vance has falsely stated that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump. According to a recent Data for Progress poll, 56 percent of Americans disagreed with those sentiments. Vance has also perpetuated other false theories and conspiracies, including the xenophobic belief that the Biden administration was “punishing” people for not supporting him, when he was still the Democratic nominee for president, by allowing more migrants into the country — a sentiment of Vance’s that more than 6 in 10 voters, according to the Data for Progress poll, also rejected.
Vance’s disastrous rollout as the vice presidential nominee is easy to see — for example, since 1980, vice presidential candidates have typically seen a 19-point “bump” in their favorability ratings after their respective party’s convention. But for Vance, the number has moved in the opposite direction, dropping by 6 points after he gave his nomination acceptance speech last month.
Democrats, including vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, have seized on Vance’s extreme views and have created a new meme for them, describing his thoughts and statements (coupled with Trump’s) as “weird” — a moniker that has caught on in social media. When asked about these descriptions of the Republican presidential ticket at an August 2 fundraiser, Trump dismissed them, claiming that they weren’t about him.
“They’re saying that about J.D.,” Trump reportedly said.
For his own part, Vance has defended Trump against attacks stemming from comments the former president made during an event for Black journalists, where he said that Harris didn’t embrace her Black identity until very recently — a claim that is blatantly false. When asked over the weekend if he himself believed Harris is Black, Vance said he believes she is “whatever she says she is,” but added: “Importantly, [I believe] that President Trump is right that she’s a chameleon.”
Vance’s continued unpopularity has led to some political insiders, including within the GOP, suggesting that Trump is likely regretting selecting him as his running mate. It’s possible (although very unlikely) that Vance could be removed from the ticket. Aside from the Republican National Committee voting to change its rules, the only way that could happen is if he voluntarily steps aside. And if Trump openly says Vance should drop out, that could very well happen.
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