Does the public miss McCarthy?

He will be missed greatly. NOT.

Mixed Verdict on Speaker McCarthy’s Ouster

Wednesday, October 04, 2023

In a survey taken before California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy was voted out as Speaker of the House, a plurality of voters didn’t think his ouster would make much difference.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 24% of Likely U.S. voters said removing McCarthy from his position as Speaker would be good for Congress, while 26% thought it would be bad for Congress. Forty-one percent (41%), however, said it would not make much difference. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

McCarthy was removed from the speakership on a 216-210 vote Tuesday, with eight Republicans voting against him; his replacement has not yet been chosen. Among Republican voters, 22% said ousting McCarthy would be good for Congress, while 37% said it would be bad. Democrats were more inclined to say McCarthy’s ouster would be good (32%) than bad (18%). Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 48% said removing McCarthy as Speaker would make no difference, 24% said it would be bad and 17% thought it would be good.

The survey of 1,035 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on September 24-26, 2023 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

As recently as June, when he brokered a deal to raise the debt ceiling, McCarthy was the most popular leader in Congress, with a 50% favorability rating from voters. Ratings Now, 40% have a favorable impression of McCarthy, including 12% with a Very Favorable opinion. Forty-six percent (46%) view McCarthy unfavorably, including 30% with a Very Unfavorable impression. Another 13% are not sure.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Republicans view McCarthy at least somewhat favorably, as do 32% of Democrats and 31% of unaffiliated voters.

Although there is not much of a “gender gap” in McCarthy’s overall favorability, more men (32%) than women voters (21%) said ousting McCarthy as Speaker would be bad for Congress.

Eighteen percent (18%) of whites, 30% of black voters and 39% of other minorities said removing McCarthy from his position as Speaker would be good for Congress. Thirty-two percent (32%) of whites, 17% of black voters and 14% of other minorities believed McCarthy’s ouster would be bad for Congress.

Although voters under 40 have a more favorable view of McCarthy, Voters 65 and older are less likely than younger voters to think removing McCarthy from the speakership will be good for Congress.

Thirty-five percent (35%) of self-identified conservative voters believe McCarthy’s ouster will be bad for Congress. Liberals are most likely to think it will not make much difference.

Government employees (33%) are more likely than private sector workers (29%) or retirees (19%) to believe that ousting McCarthy from his position as Speakers will be good for Congress.

Breaking down the electorate by income categories, voters earning more than $100,000 were most likely to think removing McCarthy from the speakership will be good for Congress.

A majority of voters believe that U.S. intelligence agencies follow their own political agenda, and two-thirds suspect the agencies are influencing the news media.

After Merrick Garland was grilled in a congressional hearing last week, nearly half of voters think the Attorney General should be impeached.