Ohio Sen. JD Vance is now the most unpopular vice presidential nominee in modern history—soaring past former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s unfavorability ratings during the 2008 campaign. According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling tracker, Vance had a -3 point net favorability/unfavorability rating among the public at large in July when he was selected as former President Donald Trump’s running mate. His net favorability has deteriorated significantly since then, now sitting at -9.3 points. Gov. Palin, who ran alongside 2008 Republican nominee John McCain, only reached a net favorability rating of -2 points during the campaign, according to ABC News, FiveThirtyEight’s parent company. Palin’s favorability dropped even further in the years after the campaign, according to Gallup polls from the time, with as many as 52% of respondents reporting an unfavorable opinion of the Alaska governor by 2010. Vance’s net favorability was also a lower than Hilary Clinton’s running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who had a -4 point rating on the eve of the 2016 election. Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, the current governor of Minnesota, has had a much smoother rollout, according to the aggregator. Although both his favorability and unfavorability ratings have risen since he entered the ticket earlier this month, Walz still has a 4.7 point net favorability, despite weeks of Republican attacks on his military service record and policies as governor.
