Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Jeb Bush’s image among Republicans has worsened, according to a new Gallup poll.
Forty-five percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they had an unfavorable opinion of the former Florida governor. The results reflect voters opinions between Dec. 18 and Jan. 5.
That support, the poll found, is significantly lower than his position in July, when 54 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they had a favorable opinion of Bush.
Frank Newport of gallup.com reported that Bush’s -1 net favorable rating is the “worst of any major GOP candidate – lower than John Kasich’s +5, and well below seven other GOP candidates Gallup is tracking.”
Ted Cruz tops the list during the two-week period, with 61 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents saying they had a favorable opinion of the Texas senator. Cruz has a +45 net favorable rating.
Marco Rubio has a +35 net favorable rating, with 55 percent of people saying they had a favorable view of the Florida senator during the two-week period. He came in third in Gallup’s net favorable rankings, ahead of Ben Carson, who has a +40 net favorable rating. Carly Fiorina, Donald Trump and Chris Christie all have net favorable ratings in the +23 to +25 range.
Bush went from being the presumed front-runner to lagging in the polls. National polling averages show he is in sixth place, with 3.3 percent support. Trump continues to lead the pack, national polling averages show, with 35.3 percent support.
Bush has spent a considerable amount of time in early voting states in recent weeks as he tries to gain momentum in advance of the country’s first primaries. The Iowa caucuses are Feb. 1; the New Hampshire primary follows a week later, on Feb. 9.
