A new poll has found that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the most popular political figure among U.S. voters.
A Harvard Caps Harris Poll, which was conducted between April 9-10, found that 44% of registered voter respondents expressed a favorable opinion of Kennedy while 37% expressed an unfavorable opinion of him.
The poll sampled public opinion on 14 political figures, ranging from President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Among those who had a favorable opinion of Kennedy, 17% expressed a “very favorable” opinion, while 27% said they only had a “favorable” opinion of the secretary, according to the poll.
Among those who had an unfavorable opinion of Kennedy, 26% said they had a “very unfavorable” opinion of him while 11% said they had just an “unfavorable” opinion of him.
The difference between Kennedy’s favorable and unfavorable numbers leaves him with a net favorability of +7% — a result that is better than his boss, President Donald Trump, who broke even among respondents.
The poll found that 46% of respondents expressed a favorable view of the president, while 46% expressed an unfavorable view.
Though the numbers presented in the poll’s bar graph do add up to 46% of respondents who expressed a favorable and unfavorable opinion, a table next to the graph shows that 47% of respondents said they had an unfavorable view of Trump and that his net favorability is actually -1%.
Mark Penn, chairman of the Harris Poll, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the poll’s findings on Monday.
As for who the second most popular political figure asked about in the poll is, it’s a tie between Vice President JD Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The poll found that 41% of respondents had a favorable view of Vance, while 39% said they had an unfavorable view.
In comparison, just 30% of respondents said they had a favorable opinion of Johnson, while 28% said they did not.
Twenty-seven percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of Gabbard and 25% had an unfavorable opinion.
All three have a net favorable rating of +2%, according to the poll.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was the third most popular political figure when asked in the poll, with a net favorable rating of +1.
The poll found that 26% of respondents had a favorable view of Bondi and 25% had an unfavorable view.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, like Trump, has a net favorable rating of 0%. Thirty-one percent of respondents said they had a favorable and unfavorable view of Rubio, according to the poll.
The political figures that had negative favorability ratings when asked included National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Pete Hegseth, U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
A total of 27% of respondents said they had a favorable view of Hegseth, while 28% said they did not, giving Hegseth a net favorable rating of -1%.
The table next to the bar graph, however, shows that 28% of respondents said they have a favorable view of Hegseth.
Twenty-six percent of respondents expressed a favorable opinion of Waltz, while 30% did not, leaving Waltz with a -3% net approval. The table next to the bar graph reads, however, that 31% of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Waltz.
A total of 29% of respondents had a favorable opinion of Ocasio-Cortez and 34% had an unfavorable opinion, giving the lawmaker a net approval of -5%.
Musk’s net approval stands at -8% with 40% of respondents expressing a favorable opinion of the CEO and 48% of respondents expressing an unfavorable opinion.
Former President Joe Biden and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, are also unpopular, according to the poll. Both Schumer and Biden were found to have a net approval rating of -13%.
A total of 39% of respondents said they had a favorable opinion of Biden, while 52% said they did not. Twenty-six percent of respondents said they had a favorable opinion of Schumer, while 39% said they had an unfavorable opinion.
The least popular political figure, however, is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin’s net favorability is -53%, with 66% of respondents saying they have an unfavorable opinion of him and 13% saying they had a favorable opinion of him. The table, however, reads that 65% of respondents had an unfavorable view of Putin.
The poll was conducted between April 9-10 with a sample size of 2,286 registered voters. The poll’s margin of error was 1.9%.
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