JD Vance's Approval Rating Is Worst Among Boomers

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More than half of older voters, known as Baby Boomers, hold an unfavorable opinion of Ohio Senator JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, according to a poll.

A Big Village survey of 1,001 adults shows that 40.5 percent said they have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump's running mate while 37.7 percent hold a favorable view of him, giving the vice presidential hopeful a net rating of minus 2.8 percent.

When broken down further, the survey shows that respondents aged 59-77 are the demographic which have the worst opinion [52.2 percent unfavorable] of Vance, including 46.3 percent who hold a "very unfavorable" view of him. In comparison, 40.5 percent of Boomers hold a favorable view of Vance, giving him a total net favorable rating of minus 11.7 percent in the key voting demographic.

The survey is the latest worrying poll for Vance since he was confirmed as Trump's vice presidential pick for the 2024 election.

CNN's senior political data reporter Harry Enten previously said that Vance was the least-liked non-incumbent vice presidential nominee following a party's convention going back to 1980, as well as the first to register an average net negative favorability rating coming out of a convention.

JD Vance in Wisconsin
Republican vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance speaks at NMC-Wollard Inc./Wollard International on August 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. A Big Village survey shows more than half of Baby Boomers have a negative... Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

More than a third of adults hold an unfavorable view of Vance among the Gen Z demographic aged 18-26 [37 percent], Millennials aged 27-42 [37.7 percent] and Generation Xers aged 43-58 [36.2 percent], according to the Big Village poll.

Vance also has a net unfavorable rating of minus 4-points among a smaller sample of 744 likely voters.

Elsewhere, the Big Village survey showed that Trump's favorable ratings are also underwater.

In total, 46.3 percent of adults hold a favorable view of the former president, compared to 48.8 percent who hold an unfavorable view of him.

This includes a net minus 15-point favorable rating among Baby Boomers, and minus 1-point among likely voters.

The Trump-Vance campaign team has been contacted for comment via email.

In comparison, Vice President Kamala Harris and her Democratic running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, both recorded a net positive approval rating in the Big Village poll.

Harris scored a plus 5-point approval rating among all adults, and a plus 8-point approval rating among likely voters.

Walz's approval rating among all adults was plus 4-points, and plus 7-points among likely voters.

Harris also beats Trump in a general 2024 election poll among all adults [41.9 percent to 39.4 percent] and among likely voters [46.5 percent to 43.7].

The Big Village survey was carried out between August 9 and August 11 among 1,001 U.S. adults. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points among all adults, and among the smaller sample of 757 likely votes.

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About the writer

Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida news. He joined Newsweek in February 2018 after spending several years working at the International Business Times U.K., where he predominantly reported on crime, politics and current affairs. Prior to this, he worked as a freelance copywriter after graduating from the University of Sunderland in 2010. Languages: English. Email: e.palmer@newsweek.com.


Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more