Vice President Kamala Harris Less Popular in Oklahoma than Nationwide

Vice President Kamala Harris' unfavorable rating is more than twice what her favorable rating is among likely voting Oklahomans, according to the latest Quarterly. While only 30.2 percent found her favorable, 63.9 percent held an unfavorable opinion of her. President Joe Biden, on the other hand, was six-points more favorable and former President Donald Trump was more than 14 points more favorable than Harris.

Harris, who is a heartbeat away from the presidency, has struggled to poll well with voters, even at a national level. A recent poll found just 37 percent had a favorable opinion of her, which is worrisome to both Democrats and Republicans alike.

[QUESTION: FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE] "Kamala Harris"

1. Very favorable 10.9%
2. Somewhat favorable 19.3
3. COMBINED FAVORABLE 30.2
4. No opinion/Don't know 5.9
5. Somewhat unfavorable 8.9
6. Very unfavorable 55.0
7. COMBINED UNFAVORABLE 63.9

While 88 percent of Republicans found Harris very unfavorable, only 29.1 percent of Democrats found her very favorable. Independents were split with 41.4 percent found her favorable, and 38.5 percent found her unfavorable.

Harris' greatest challenges are within her own party and aligned ideology. While nearly all respondents who identify themselves as very conservative viewed Harris to be very unfavorable, only 24.4 percent of those who identify themselves as very liberal, or those that share her same world view, found her as very favorable. Just 30 percent of moderates found her as favorable, while 52.7 percent found her as unfavorable.

Majorities, or near majorities, in four of Oklahoma's five congressional districts viewed Harris as not just unfavorable, but very unfavorable. A plurality, 44.9 percent, in Oklahoma's 4th District where the left-leaning campus of OU is located, found her to be very unfavorable.

Over 60 percent of men found her to be very unfavorable and just over half of all women viewed her as very unfavorable.

While younger Oklahomans were more likely to not know her or have an opinion of her, more than one-in-three likely voters aged 18-24 viewed her as very unfavorable. Nearly 67 percent of those over the age of 65 found her very unfavorable.

‍About the Poll

SoonerPoll.com, Oklahoma’s public opinion pollster, asked these questions of Oklahoma likely voters.

The scientific study was conducted from June 1-4, 2023 with 302 likely Oklahoma voters selected at random statewide from SoonerPoll's proprietary online panel. The sample was weighted by education, age, and congressional district in order to reflect the Oklahoma likely voter population for a general election. The weighting was conducted using a 'layered technique.'

The sample reflects the traditional demographical profile of the Oklahoma likely voter with roughly half of respondents identifying as conservative and nearly a third identifying as Moderate. The study has a Margin of Error (MoE) of ±5.65 percent.

A complete description of the methodology can be found here.

Photo by Gage Skidmore