New Poll Shows Unexpected Leaders in Republican Popularity Race

A recent Harvard-CAPS Harris poll found interesting conclusions regarding the political landscape, including who Americans like as leaders. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the survey with modest net favorability ratings of 3 percent. This puts them ahead of key Republican leaders, including former President Donald Trump.

Polls reveal Kennedy and Rubio’s deeply divided support. Kennedy was considered “very unfavorable” by 26%, “favorable” by 25%, “very favorable” by 18%, and “unfavorable” by 14%. Rubio had a similar split, although 20% were positive. Vice President JD Vance and California Governor Gavin Newsom trail them with 1% favorability.

Interesting, former President Donald Trump scores slightly below Kennedy and Rubio with a 3% net unfavorable approval. He was viewed very poorly by 38% of respondents, compared to 26%, 20%, and 11%. Despite these varied results, the poll indicated that Trump’s overall approval rating rose to 47% in December from 44% earlier in the year.

Trump has greater approval ratings in areas like crime prevention in U.S. cities (51% approval) and restoring American values (50% approval). Other policy areas with moderate popularity are economic management (44%), immigration (49%), foreign affairs (45%), and inflation (40%). Despite some respondents’ concerns, a majority (53 percent to 47 percent) believe Trump is outperforming President Joe Biden.

The poll also shows voter views on the nation’s trajectory. Only 39% think the nation is on track, while 52% think it’s off. 36 percent think the economy is doing well, while 55 percent think it’s going wrong.

The Republican Party’s net favorability rose to 46% from 54% disapproval. The Democratic Party’s performance was disapproved of by 59%, lowering its favorability to 41%.

The poll of 2,204 registered voters was conducted December 2–4 and has a margin of error of 1.99 percentage points. The survey shows how Americans regard leaders and political parties ahead of election cycles.

Sources:
Harvard-CAPS Harris Poll, December 2025
Official U.S. Government Data on Political Leaders and Approval Ratings