RFK Jr. Tops Poll as Most Favorable Presidential Candidate
Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Leads in Favorability Ratings for 2024 Presidential Candidates
Dismissed as a longshot candidate by many political pundits, Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. carries the highest net favorability of all 2024 presidential candidates, according to a recent poll (pdf) from The Economist/YouGov.
Kennedy was viewed favorably by 49 percent of the respondents, which translates to a net favorability rating of 19 points. He was seen as unfavorable by 30 percent.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who is currently the frontrunner among Republican candidates, had 45 percent and 43 percent of the respondents view them in a favorable way.
Biden’s net favorability rating was minus 7 while Trump had a minus 10 net favorability rating.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces his 2024 presidential bid and Democratic primary challenge to President Joe Biden in Boston on April 19, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/Epoch Times)
Three percent of the poll’s respondents were unsure of their opinion of Biden and Trump while 21 percent were uncertain about Kennedy.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott had the second-highest net favorability ratings of all candidates at 8 points.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was seen favorably by 26 percent and unfavorably by 19 percent. Scott was viewed favorably by 33 percent of the respondents, and unfavorably by 25 percent.
The poll was conducted from June 10 to June 13 among 1,500 U.S. adults and had a 2.7-point margin of error.
Bipartisan Support
Kennedy is drawing bipartisan support in the early stages of his campaign.
Poll results showed that Republicans and conservatives had more favorable views toward him than Democrats and liberals.
“[Kennedy] is the only Democrat who can reach across the political spectrum, which means he can win in 2024,” said Dennis Kucinich, the former Ohio congressman and two-time Democratic presidential candidate who is Kennedy’s campaign manager, to The Epoch Times.
“Conservatives, liberals, independents, and libertarians are responding to this campaign because of the unique qualities of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and because there is an understanding he stands for unity, freedom, truth, and authenticity,” Kucinich added. “That is what’s resonating with people.”
Kennedy is the son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy and late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
An environmental attorney and the founder of Children’s Health Defense, Kennedy is widely known for his outspoken stances about the dangers of the COVID-19 vaccines to some in the population who were forced to take them, and of vaccines in general.
Kennedy has widely talked about the negative impact of COVID pandemic lockdowns, and he’s a vocal opponent of the pharmaceutical industry’s influence on the government.
He is also a vocal opponent of Big Tech censorship.
He differs from President Joe Biden and progressive Democrats on multiple issues.
When asked about his stance on the Second Amendment, he said, “I believe in the Constitution, and I’m not going to take everybody’s guns away.
“I had two family members who were killed by gunfire, so I understand the anguish and the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence. We must figure out a way to deal with it, but talking about taking people’s guns away at this point in history is not a solution.”
Kennedy also has a more conservative than liberal stance regarding the border crisis.
“We have to stop the crisis at the border. We have to seal our borders. No nation can exist If you don’t control [illegal] immigration,” he told The Epoch Times.
“There’s a lot of different options. The Israelis are using technology to control their borders and doing it very successfully because they have the same problem with African immigration. I want to talk to all the stakeholders before we develop a policy, but I’m going to seal the border.”
Meanwhile, his stance on abortion is one that aligns with the Biden administration.
“I can argue there’s nobody in this country that has worked harder for the rights of medical freedom and personal bodily autonomy than me,” he said. “That applies to the vaccines and abortion.
“I don’t think the government should be telling us what to do with our bodies and dictating for Americans what we can and cannot do in the first three months of pregnancy. It’s a woman’s choice.”
A Harvard Center for American Political Studies-Harris Poll released on June 16 showed Kennedy with 15 percent of support in a sample of the
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