Buttigieg, Whitmer draw strongest approval ratings among Harris VP contenders in new survey

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have the strongest approval rating among Democrats of the potential running mates for Vice President Harris if she, as expected, becomes the party’s 2024 presidential nominee, according to a YouGov poll released Monday.

In the poll, 59 percent of Democrats say they strongly or somewhat approve of Buttigieg, compared to only 14 percent who say they disapprove. Whitmer — who has said she is not being vetted as a VP contender — received 50 percent approval, compared to only 13 percent who say they disapprove.

Several other contenders follow closely behind in approval ratings, with only one potential candidate — California Gov. Gavin Newsom — maintaining a double-digit disapproval rating (21 percent). The rest have single-digit disapproval ratings.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) has the third-highest approval (49 percent), followed by Newsom in fourth (48 percent) and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in fifth (44 percent).

Most Democrats who answered the survey have an opinion about the top five candidates. For the other four candidates, a plurality of Democrats either say they are not sure what they think of them or have not heard of them.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear follows closely behind Shapiro, with 38 percent approval, but a plurality said they either don’t know him (33 percent) or are not sure what they think of him (22 percent).

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have approval ratings in the 20 percent range, while their unknown rate is in the 40 percent range.

The poll comes as Harris solidifies her spot as the party’s presumptive nominee and public attention focuses on whom she will pick as her running mate. She faces no serious challenger and has already secured the support from enough delegates to win the party nomination.

The Democratic National Committee expects Harris to select her running mate by Aug. 7.

The poll was conducted Wednesday through Friday and included 1,143 U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 4 percentage points.