Paul Ryan Poll Reveals Mixed Public Opinion

Americans Divided On Paul Ryan

Americans remain nearly evenly split in their views of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), according to a poll released Wednesday by USA Today and Gallup. The Republican vice presidential nominee was viewed favorably by 38 percent of those polled and unfavorably by 36 percent, a gap within the poll's margin of error. Independents were similarly divided, with 34 percent expressing favorable opinions and 35 percent unfavorable ones.

About a quarter of those polled hadn't heard of Ryan or didn't have an opinion about him, far below the 58 percent who had no opinion on Aug. 12, the day after Mitt Romney announced his selection. The earlier survey also found that more Americans viewed Romney's choice of Ryan as a negative than as a positive -- a result not seen since George H.W. Bush chose Dan Quayle in 1988.

As the HuffPost Pollster chart (above) aggregating national surveys demonstrates, other polling on Ryan has found similarly mixed results. A Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll released Tuesday showing opinion on him split exactly 50-50. Vice President Joe Biden's ratings have also been divided in recent polls. A May USA Today/Gallup poll found that 42 percent rated him favorably and 45 percent unfavorably.

The most recent USA Today/Gallup poll interviewed 1,033 adults by telephone between Aug. 20 and 22, with a 4 percent margin of error.

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