Poll: GOP disapproval highest since 1992

More than half of people in the United States have an unfavorable view of the Republican Party, the highest negative rating for the GOP in 24 years, according to a new poll released Thursday. 

Sixty-two percent of people polled said they have an unfavorable view of the GOP, the highest negative rating the party has seen since 1992, according to a Pew Research Center Poll. Only 33 percent of respondents said they have a favorable impression of the GOP.

{mosads}The numbers represent a big shift from last fall, when 37 percent viewed the GOP favorably and 58 percent viewed it unfavorably. The decline was concentrated among Republican voters, 68 percent of whom view their party favorably, down from 79 percent last fall. 

It’s unclear what caused the drop in the GOP’s favorability numbers, though the party’s hotly contested presidential primary race, led by Donald Trump, is likely a factor.

Views of the Democratic Party have remained relatively stable. Forty-five percent of the people said they see the Democratic Party favorably, while 50 percent have an unfavorable view. Meanwhile, 88 percent of Democrats have a favorable view of their party, 20 points higher than the Republicans’ ratings of the GOP. 

The poll also shows women, blacks and hispanics were more likely to have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party than the GOP.

The poll was conducted April 12–19 among 2,008 adults with a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.