Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out: Poll Shows Americans Happy To See Boehner Go

John Boehner’s approval rating went up by 12 points with Independents and 11 points with Democrats after he announced that he was quitting Congress, but his disapproval rating remains higher than his approval rating. It’s clear that the American people are happy to see Boehner go.

According to Gallup:

Americans’ opinions of House Speaker John Boehner are still negative, but they have improved since he announced last month that he would resign his position. Currently, 31% of Americans have a favorable opinion of Boehner, up from 23% in August. This is his best reading since April 2014.

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Interestingly, Republicans’ views of Boehner are unchanged since Gallup’s last measurement in August, while independents and Democrats now view him more favorably. This may be the result of recent attention paid to conservative Republicans’ role in forcing Boehner to step down, perhaps leading some independents and Democrats to view him as more of an ally. Nevertheless, Democrats and independents still view him more negatively than Republicans do.

By the numbers, Boehner’s approval rating went from 19% with Democrats to 30%, and from 17% to 29% with Independents. His unfavorable rating went from 59% with Democrats to 54%, and from 57%-43% with Independents. His numbers with Republicans remain unchanged. His favorable rating went from 37% to 36%, and his unfavorable rating stayed at 42%.

Speaker Boehner is experiencing a wave of popularity since announcing his retirement. There is going to be very little nostalgia associated with the Boehner era. John Boehner was viewed as part of the problem, and we’ll see how big of a part of the problem he was after he is gone, and new Speaker takes over.

The Gallup poll reveals that the American people aren’t going to miss Boehner and that Republicans would love to have the kind of poll numbers that President Obama has. John Boehner is at his second highest point of popularity, and President Obama remains 15+ points more popular than the top Republican.

Boehner’s lack of popularity is a symptom of larger distaste that the American people have for the Republican Party as a whole.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association