Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer have the highest approval ratings among Democrats of Vice President Harris’ potential running mates if she, as expected, becomes the party’s presidential nominee in 2024, according to a YouGov Poll released Monday.
In the poll, 59% of Democrats say they strongly or somewhat approve of Buttigieg, compared to just 14% who say they disapprove. Whitmer — who said she was not being considered as a vice presidential candidate — received 50% approval, compared to just 13% who said they disapproved.
Several other candidates follow closely in approval ratings, with only one potential candidate – California Governor Gavin Newsom – maintaining a double-digit disapproval rating (21%). The remainder have single-digit disapproval ratings.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) has the third-highest approval rating (49%), followed by Newsom in fourth (48%) and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in fifth (44%).
Most Democrats who responded to the poll have an opinion on the top five candidates. For the other four candidates, a plurality of Democrats say they are not sure what they think of them or have not heard of them.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear closely follows Shapiro, with 38 percent approval, but a plurality said they don’t know him (33 percent) or aren’t sure what they think of him (22 percent).
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz all have approval ratings in the 20 percent range, while their unknown rating is in the 40 percent range.
The poll comes as Harris solidifies her position as the party’s presumptive nominee and public attention focuses on who she will choose as her running mate. She faces no serious challenger and has already secured the support of enough delegates to win the party’s nomination.
The Democratic National Committee expects Harris to choose her running mate by August 7.
The survey was conducted Wednesday through Friday and included 1,143 U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 4 percentage points.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
