The approval and favorability ratings of Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the House Speaker are soaring and much beyond those of Paul Ryan at a comparable period in his speakership.
McCarthy has a 41 percent approval rating and a 34 percent disapproval rating, according to a Wednesday Economist/YouGov poll. This represents a net increase of six percentage points from the pollster’s survey from last week. McCarthy has a 62 percent popularity rating among Republican voters, while only 17 percent disapprove, for a net approval rating of 45 percent.
A YouGov poll from early January 2016 revealed that Ryan, the previous GOP speaker, had a 33 percent overall approval rating during his first two months in office and a 30 percent disapproval rating. His acceptance rating among Republicans was at 45 percent, with 30 percent disapproving. When it comes to GOP voters, McCarthy is a net 30 percentage points ahead of where Ryan was at the same stage in his speakership.
McCarthy’s favorability has increased significantly week over week as well. 39 percent of people today approve of him, while only 38 percent dislike him. The speaker now has a net 12-point advantage. Republicans have increased their support for McCarthy by a net 17 points since last week, with 63 percent of them seeing him favorable compared to just 22 percent who do not.
Around the same time, Ryan’s favorability and unfavorability scores were 31% and 38%, respectively. Republicans only rated him favorably in 45 percent of cases, and negatively in 39 percent. This resulted in a net increase of six percentage points, which is 35 points less than McCarthy’s present position.
McCarthy’s rise coincides with the airing last week of a tape from January 6 that the speaker gave Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson in February. McCarthy reportedly provided Carlson with 41,000 hours of video, which is a significant increase from the 14,000 hours that were previously stated. He promised to fully release all of the footage during an exclusive lengthy sit-down interview with Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle last week.
“It takes time,” he replied, “simply to make sure we get through them all. Tucker also mentioned up front that he didn’t want to display any exits in case it caused any issues. We inquired of the Capitol Police if there were any worries. They returned with one, which we were able to mitigate, but it was interesting to note that Eric Swalwell had posted the portion of the one they were having trouble with online for the previous two years.”
42 percent of those polled said they agree with McCarthy’s choice to allow Carson access to the tapes, while 38 percent disagree. Republicans favor the speaker’s choice to the tune of 61%.
The poll was conducted from March 10 to 14 among 1,500 U.S. adults, and its weighted margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
