Nov 22, 2023 - Politics & Policy

Who is Mike Johnson? More than 40% of Americans don't know, poll finds

Ivana Saric

Mike Johnson gives a brief statement to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on October 26. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), despite being in his role nearly a month, remains relatively unknown, per an NBC News poll released Wednesday.

Why it matters: Johnson won a contentious House speaker election last month, becoming the least experienced representative to obtain the gavel in 140 years.

Johnson was first elected to his House seat in 2016 and been a low-ranking member of the GOP leadership before attaining a stunning rise in power.

The big picture: When voters were asked about their opinion of Johnson, 43% said they did not know him or recognize his name — the most common response among respondents.

14% of voters said they viewed Johnson positively while 23% had a negative view of him.
Another 20% said they were neutral when it came to Johnson.

Zoom out: Johnson's favorability ratings outflank those of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the time of his ousting, according to NBC News.

A NBC News poll in September found that 16% of voters saw McCarthy positively, while 39% viewed him negatively.

Methodology: The NBC News poll was conducted Nov. 10-14 and surveyed 1,000 registered voters. The overall margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points

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Who is Mike Johnson? More than 40% of Americans don't know, poll finds

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