Aug 18, 2012 No Comments ›› Pat Dollard
Excerpted from Ballot Box: A new poll shows voters giving Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) a slight edge when asked which VP candidate is better qualified to serve as president.
The new survey from conservative-leaning outlet Rasmussen shows that 42 percent say the House Budget Chairman and Mitt Romney running mate would be more qualified to be commander-in-chief. Forty percent pick Vice President Joe Biden, with 18 percent undecided.
Ryan’s two-point edge, however, is within the poll’s 3-percent margin of error.
The new Rasmussen poll numbers will also be welcome news at Romney headquarters after other polls in Ryan’s first week on the campaign trail suggested he had received a lukewarm response from voters.
A USA Today/Gallup poll on Monday, though, found that the seven-term Wisconsin lawmaker was viewed as a “fair” or “poor” choice by 42 percent, with 39 naming him an “excellent” or “pretty good” choice.
That survey found Ryan was the worst performing VP pick immediately after his introduction since Vice President Dan Quayle in 1988. Quayle was viewed as a “fair” or “poor” choice by 52 percent of the public in that year.
Another Rasmussen poll this week, though, found voters viewing Ryan more favorably after his selection by Romney.
In that poll released Tuesday, 50 percent surveyed said they had a favorable view of the GOP veep pick, including 29 percent who held a “very favorable” view. Thirty-two percent viewed him unfavorably, with 13 percent holding a “very unfavorable” view.
Overall, 43 percent said he was the right pick for Romney.
The Rasmussen poll on Biden and Ryan’s relative qualifications for the presidency was conducted from Aug. 14 to 15.
