Sadly, this says more about the American electorate than it does about Carson:
Ben Carson maintains his exceptional popularity among Republicans amid criticisms of his campaign and past statements, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
And, in fact, he's quite popular among independents too.
Over seven in 10 Republicans have a positive view of Carson (71 percent), similar to his 68 percent favorable rating in a Post-ABC poll six weeks ago. Businessman Donald Trump is close behind, with 69 percent favorability among Republicans, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) at 58 percent, former Florida governor Jeb Bush at 56 percent and Sen. Ted Cruz at 53.
What distinguishes Carson from his opponents is how intensely Republicans like him-- 39 percent report a "strongly" favorable view of Carson, 13 points higher than for Trump (26 percent) and more than twice as many with strongly positive views of Rubio (19), Cruz (18) or Bush (12).
Carson also boasts largely positive ratings beyond the Republican party. By 50 percent to 32 percent, considerably more Americans have a favorable than unfavorable view of Carson. And in fact, that 50 percent favorable rating is the best for any presidential candidate in Post-ABC polling going back several months. The last candidate who had half the country like them was Hillary Rodham Clinton in July (52 percent) -- and even then, she had significantly more detractors than Carson does today.
The poll was conducted Wednesday through Sunday, so it doesn't cover the entire period during which Carson faced the most scrutiny. CNN first questioned some of his biographical claims on Thursday, followed by reports from Politico and the Wall Street Journal in the days that followed. But it does include many interviews conducted during the controversy.
Among all Americans, Rubio receives narrowly positive ratings -- 41-37 -- but other Republicans are underwater. Trump receives the most negative appraisal, with 59 percent rating the real estate mogul unfavorably.
The survey finds one bit of negative news for Carson: His unfavorable ratings among political independents have risen to 35 percent, up from 23 percent six weeks ago. But even here, his overall image among independents continues to be positive, with 47 percent giving him favorable reviews.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...tories_fix-carsonpopular-909am:homepage/story
Ben Carson maintains his exceptional popularity among Republicans amid criticisms of his campaign and past statements, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
And, in fact, he's quite popular among independents too.
Over seven in 10 Republicans have a positive view of Carson (71 percent), similar to his 68 percent favorable rating in a Post-ABC poll six weeks ago. Businessman Donald Trump is close behind, with 69 percent favorability among Republicans, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) at 58 percent, former Florida governor Jeb Bush at 56 percent and Sen. Ted Cruz at 53.
What distinguishes Carson from his opponents is how intensely Republicans like him-- 39 percent report a "strongly" favorable view of Carson, 13 points higher than for Trump (26 percent) and more than twice as many with strongly positive views of Rubio (19), Cruz (18) or Bush (12).
Carson also boasts largely positive ratings beyond the Republican party. By 50 percent to 32 percent, considerably more Americans have a favorable than unfavorable view of Carson. And in fact, that 50 percent favorable rating is the best for any presidential candidate in Post-ABC polling going back several months. The last candidate who had half the country like them was Hillary Rodham Clinton in July (52 percent) -- and even then, she had significantly more detractors than Carson does today.
The poll was conducted Wednesday through Sunday, so it doesn't cover the entire period during which Carson faced the most scrutiny. CNN first questioned some of his biographical claims on Thursday, followed by reports from Politico and the Wall Street Journal in the days that followed. But it does include many interviews conducted during the controversy.
Among all Americans, Rubio receives narrowly positive ratings -- 41-37 -- but other Republicans are underwater. Trump receives the most negative appraisal, with 59 percent rating the real estate mogul unfavorably.
The survey finds one bit of negative news for Carson: His unfavorable ratings among political independents have risen to 35 percent, up from 23 percent six weeks ago. But even here, his overall image among independents continues to be positive, with 47 percent giving him favorable reviews.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...tories_fix-carsonpopular-909am:homepage/story
