CLEVELAND — House Speaker Paul D. Ryan has a higher favorability rating than several other high-profile Republicans at the party’s convention this week in Cleveland, including Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Among U.S. adults, Mr. Ryan had a 44 percent favorable rating and a 35 percent unfavorable rating. And among Republicans, he enjoyed a 71 percent/16 percent favorable/unfavorable split, according to polling from Gallup released Tuesday.
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, was underwater among all adults, with 33 percent saying they have a favorable view and 63 percent reporting an unfavorable one. Among Republicans, Mr. Trump had a positive 65 percent/32 percent split.
Mr. Cruz, who was Mr. Trump’s chief rival in the 2016 GOP presidential primary contest, had a 36 percent/49 percent favorable/unfavorable split overall and a positive 59 percent/31 percent split among Republicans.
Mr. Christie, meanwhile, had a 31 percent/46 percent split overall and a 52 percent/26 percent split among Republicans.
Mr. Ryan and Mr. Christie both spoke on day two of the Republican National Convention Tuesday. Mr. Cruz is scheduled to deliver a prime-time address Wednesday and Mr. Trump will deliver his own speech on Thursday after delegates formally nominated him as the GOP presidential nominee Tuesday.
Former President George W. Bush, who isn’t attending the Republican convention, outpaced all of them in terms of favorability, though his unfavorable numbers among Republicans were slightly higher than Mr. Ryan’s. Mr. Bush had a 52 percent/43 percent favorable/unfavorable split overall and a 75 percent/22 percent spit among Republicans.
Mr. Bush has largely refrained from publicly wading into politics since leaving the White House, though he did campaign for his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, ahead of the South Carolina primary.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is also skipping the convention, wasn’t viewed as favorably as Mr. Bush. He had a 35 percent/51 percent split overall and a slightly negative 44 percent/46 percent split among Republicans. Mr. Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, has been a prominent critic of Mr. Trump.
The survey was taken from July 13-17 — right before the GOP convention kicked off this week in Cleveland.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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