Poll says John McCain more popular with Democrats than Republicans
Dec 19, 2017, 2:09 PM | Updated: Mar 1, 2018, 3:28 pm
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks to reporters as he heads to vote on budget amendments, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
PHOENIX — U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is more popular with Democrats than he is with members of his own party, a poll released Tuesday said.
The poll from CNN and SSRS, a survey and research company, said 68 percent of Democrats have a favorable view of the longtime senator, while 46 percent of Republicans and 48 percent of independents support him.
About 40 percent of Republican respondents said they had an unfavorable view of McCain, compared to 35 percent of independents and just 16 percent of Democrats.
The poll did not ask why people held certain views of McCain, but he has been in headlines a lot lately.
The senator had several public spats with President Donald Trump prior to last year’s election.
It started with Trump saying he doesn’t like people who get captured, a direct reference to the more than five years McCain spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and was capped most recently by a stern warning from McCain about U.S. relations with North Korea.
The senator was diagnosed with an aggresive form of brain cancer earlier this year. He was expected to miss Tuesday’s Senate vote on the Republican tax reform plan.
McCain left Washington, D.C. early after being released from the hospital.
The CNN/SSRS poll had an average demographical margin of error of 6.4.
Of the 1,001 respondents, 33 percent described themselves as Democrats, 23 percent said they were Republican and 44 percent said they were independent.
