In the race between Minnesota’s dad energy and “hillbilly elegy” energy, Midwestern voters seem to have a clear preference.
In three Midwestern states, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is ahead of his Republican counterpart, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll. They are viewed more favorably than members of Congress.
The poll, conducted as the two men prepared to face off in Tuesday’s debate, found that 44% of likely voters in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin viewed Walz favorably. It was found that 41% viewed the situation unfavorably. The poll found that Mr. Vance was viewed favorably by 42% of likely voters in those states and unfavorably by 48%. Both men were chosen in part to appeal to Midwestern voters.
Voters were more likely to say Walz was honest, trustworthy and caring than they were to say the same about Vance.
About half of voters say Walz is “honest and trustworthy” and “cares about people like me,” and about a third of voters say these words don’t describe him well. said. Voters were less likely to say these traits applied to Mr. Vance and far more likely to say those qualities did not describe Mr. Vance well.
Walz was the only presidential candidate in all three states with more supporters than detractors of either major presidential candidate.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, is viewed favorably by 48% of likely voters in these states and unfavorably by 50%. Additionally, 47% had a favorable opinion of former President Donald J. Trump, the Republican candidate, and 52% had an unfavorable opinion.
Mr. Vance’s approval ratings were highest in his home state of Ohio, but even there he had more detractors than supporters, polls showed.
The poll found that 45% of likely Ohio voters have a favorable view of Mr. Vance, while 47% have an unfavorable view. (In recent weeks, Mr. Vance has spread false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating household pets, drawing reprimands from city officials and Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.) Ohio was the only state affected by Walz. There were more detractors than supporters. He was viewed favorably by 41 percent and unfavorably by 42 percent.
Part of the difference in favorability ratings may be explained by the fact that more voters have an opinion of Mr. Vance, the author of the filmed memoir, than Mr. Waltz. Overall, 16 percent of likely voters in the three states said they had never heard of Walz or were unsure what they thought of him. Only 10% said the same opinion about Mr. Vance.
The disparity in favorability ratings between the two vice presidential candidates is consistent with other recent polling results. As of Sept. 26, Mr. Walz was viewed favorably by about 40% of voters and unfavorably by 36%, compared with 35% for Mr. Vance, according to an average of national polls by SiteFiveThirtyEight. 46% of respondents viewed it favorably, while 46% viewed it unfavorably. .
The rift presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the two men as they prepare to face off in New York next week for the first and only debate sponsored by CBS News. For better or worse, more Americans will have the opportunity to get to know the candidates and form opinions about them.
