Former US president Barack Obama is the most popular political figure in the United States, according to a new poll that measured Americans' feelings towards prominent politicians and political organisations.
The June survey by Strength In Numbers and Verasight found that Obama was the only figure among 19 tested politicians and party organisations to receive an average favourable rating above the midpoint on a 0-100 "feeling thermometer" scale.
Obama received an average score of 52 out of 100, placing him ahead of other major political figures, according to the poll analysis published by G. Elliott Morris in Strength In Numbers on 29 June.
Among Democratic-aligned figures, Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani ranked highest after Obama, with scores of 45 and 44 respectively. The Democratic Party, Pete Buttigieg and Jon Ossoff followed with ratings of 43, 43 and 42.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Kamala Harris and Marco Rubio each received a score of 41, making Rubio the only Republican figure among the highest-rated politicians in the survey.
At the bottom of the ranking was conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who received the lowest score at 28. Chuck Schumer and John Thune also ranked among the least popular figures, each scoring 30.
The poll showed that most Republican figures received lower overall ratings compared with their Democratic counterparts. Donald Trump scored 38, while JD Vance received the same rating.
Democratic voters favour Sanders, Mamdani
When the results were broken down by party affiliation, Democratic respondents gave their highest ratings to left-leaning figures.
Sanders and Mamdani topped Democratic voters' rankings with scores of 72 each, followed by Ocasio-Cortez at 70. Harris received 68, Buttigieg 67 and Gavin Newsom 64.
Among Republicans, Vance and Rubio tied as the most popular figures within their party, both scoring 68. Carlson received a significantly lower rating among Republican respondents, with a score of 40.
The poll comes amid renewed debate within the Democratic Party over the rise of progressive candidates, following victories by several candidates backed by Mamdani in recent New York Democratic primaries.
The survey used a "feeling thermometer" method, asking respondents familiar with each figure to rate them from 0 (very cold feelings) to 100 (very warm feelings). The poll noted that ratings for lesser-known politicians may shift as public awareness of them increases.
Barack Obama / Poll result / Zohran Mamdani
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