J.D. Vance was unpopular coming out of the gate as Donald Trump's running mate, and the polling has only gotten worse.
The Ohio Republican had historically low approval as soon as he was chosen as the vice presidential pick, and Washington Post columnist Aaron Blake noted that a half-dozen polls found his "already-underwhelming image deteriorating" as his past remarks about "childless cat ladies" continue to haunt him.
"Crucially, his struggles appear particularly pronounced among educated voters and women," Blake wrote. "That would suggest that his derisive past comments about childless women are indeed proving to be liabilities."
The first-term GOP senator's net favorability rating is nine points underwater in the FiveThirtyEight average, while other recent running mates have generally been popular among a majority of voters. Three of the polls taken more than once since he entered the race found as many people with very unfavorable views of Vance as any kind of positive view.
"Vance’s net favorable rating has declined among women by around 10 points in each of the Marist, Economist/YouGov and other YouGov polls," Blake wrote. "He’s declined among independents by double digits in both the Marist and YouGov polls. (Though he ticked up slightly in the Economist/YouGov poll.)"
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He's dropped by at least 19 points among Black voters in those three polls and down double digits among voters under age 30 in two of the three, and his net image declined in the Marist poll by 28 points among college-educated voters and 14 points among independent-leaning women – and his numbers among many groups are about the same as Trump's.
"Vance isn’t getting that same benefit of the doubt," Blake wrote. "Instead, his status as a historically unpopular running mate appears to be cementing."
