A new Gallup poll shows that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s unfavorable rating has skyrocketed since last September, with a strong plurality viewing her negatively.
A Gallup poll released Friday shows that Ocasio-Cortez’s unfavorable rating has risen by 15 points since last September, when she had yet to win the general election, increasing from 26 percent to 41 percent of the American adults polled.
She has also managed to increase her favorability rating, but only by 7 points. About 31 percent of surveyed people view her favorably, compared to 24 percent in September.
Since September, Ocasio-Cortez became more widely recognized across the country, with half of the respondents saying they have never heard of her before. Now only a fifth of surveyed people says they aren’t familiar with the self-described Democratic socialist.
The poll notes that Ocasio-Cortez’s name recognition is growing compared to that of other politicians at the same point in their careers in Congress. More surveyed people know the New York Democrat than they knew Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz as freshmen.
Overall, the results suggest that Ocasio-Cortez may be a polarizing figure. Most of her support is galvanized around younger, more diverse Democrat-leaning groups, while most of her opposition is composed of Republicans and more conservative Democrat-leaning groups.
Nearly three-quarters of Republican respondents say they view her negatively, with only 5 percent having a positive view. Among the Democrats, 56 percent of respondents had a favorable view of Ocasio-Cortez, compared to only 15 percent of the Democrats polled who don’t support her.
She’s favored by the usual suspects: adults 18-24, minorities, and women. But it’s significant that her largest favorability deficit is among men (-24) and whites (-24).
She’s been in office less than three months and the more people become aware of her, the less they like her. But it doesn’t matter how many Republicans like her — or men, or whites. Her constituency is the growing radical movement in the Democratic Party. That’s her power base and she will only get stronger as the radicals assert control over the party.
Along with Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, AOC and her fellow freshmen lawmakers will continue to receive notoriety, driving the Democrats ever leftward. If they can’t be stopped, it’s very possible that a fellow radical will actually win the Democratic nomination and become an easy target for Trump in 2020.
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