Former President Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson are among the most liked politicians, according to new YouGov surveys.
In one YouGov survey on Democratic figures, 58 percent of respondents said they felt “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” toward Obama. Meanwhile, 36 percent said they either felt “somewhat unfavorable” or “very unfavorable” toward the former president, leaving a 22 point difference between those who viewed Obama favorably and unfavorably — the highest on the list of figures.
Half in the survey said they viewed Sanders “very” or “somewhat” favorably, while 38 percent said they felt “somewhat unfavorable” or “very unfavorable” toward the Vermont senator, who caucuses with Democrats. There was a 12 point gap between those who viewed Sanders favorably versus unfavorably.
Obama and Sanders have both spoken out against actions from the new Trump administration in its first few months. Sanders has recently drawn large crowds at rallies on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), going to places like Idaho and Montana, two Republican-leaning states.
In another YouGov survey about Republican figures, 35 percent of respondents said they felt either “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” toward Carson. And 29 percent said they viewed him as “very unfavorable” or “somewhat favorable.” The difference between those who viewed the former Housing secretary favorably versus unfavorably was 6 points, the largest gap of the Republican figures surveyed.
Carson, who served as secretary during President Trump’s first term, endorsed Trump’s most recent bid for the presidency in late 2023.
“Donald Trump believes in our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms,” Carson said at the time. “So we can fix our country, and we can make America great again. And President Donald J. Trump is the person to do that.”
The YouGov survey on Democratic figures took place March 19-22, featuring 2,285 respondents with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. The YouGov Survey on Republican figures took place March 21-24, featuring 2,260 respondents and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
