Most potential Republican primary voters view anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy favorably, the latest Morning Consult survey found.
This week’s survey, released Tuesday, found former President Donald Trump maintaining his long-held status as the most favorable candidate in the Republican primary race, with 73 percent viewing him favorably. Last week, that figure stood at 74 percent. One-quarter now report an unfavorable view of Trump, reflecting a one-point increase from the 24 percent who said the same last week.
Sixty-four percent view Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis favorably — two points less than the 66 percent who said the same one week ago. Twenty-one percent continue to view him unfavorably, which is the same figure reported last week.
The biggest trend seems to be Ramaswamy’s rise, as he largely struggled with name recognition at the beginning of his bid. Last week, 49 percent viewed him favorably compared to 13 percent who did not. This week, he broke the majority threshold, as 53 percent view him favorably compared to 13 percent who do not. Another 23 percent said they have never heard of him.
As Morning Consult reported:
Ramaswamy’s popularity is on the rise: A majority of the Republican Party’s expected electorate (53%) holds favorable views of Ramaswamy, in what’s his best rating by our popularity metric since he launched his campaign in late February. Ramaswamy’s net favorability — the share of potential GOP primary voters with favorable views minus the share with unfavorable views — is higher than all candidates besides Trump and DeSantis.
Related — Anti-Woke Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy: “I Would Not Give Another Dollar to Ukraine” if Elected President
As is consistent with past surveys, former Vice President Mike Pence continues to report the second-largest unfavorable rating at 35 percent. However, 54 percent still report having a favorable view.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appears to be the most unpopular candidate in terms of favorability, as 43 percent have an unfavorable view of him compared to 29 percent who view him favorably.
The remaining candidates continue to struggle with a lack of name recognition. For instance, 58 percent said they have never heard of either North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum or former Texas Rep. Will Hurd.
That portion of the survey was taken July 13-15, 2023, among 789 potential GOP primary voters. It has a +/- four percent margin of error.
The survey’s release comes a day after Ramaswamy signed the Concerned Women for America‘s “Presidential Promise to American Women,” reaffirming that there are “two sexes, period.”
Notably, Trump was the first presidential candidate to sign the pledge.
RELATED — Trump: “The Republican Party Is Now the Party of American Women”