Disapproval

Poll: GOP disapproval highest since 1992

By BRIANNA GURCIULLO

More than 60 percent of the American public has an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, an increase from last fall and the highest that the party’s negative rating has been since 1992.

Sixty-two percent of Americans have an unfavorable impression of the GOP compared to 33 percent who view the party favorably, according to a Pew Research Center study released Thursday. That’s a more negative image of the party than in October, when there was a split of 58 percent unfavorable to 37 percent favorable.

American opinion of the Democratic Party, meanwhile, stayed about the same: 45 percent view the party favorably and 50 percent unfavorably. That leaves a quarter of the public with a negative view of both parties, an increase from past presidential election years.

Pew found that the falling image of the GOP mostly came from people who identified as Republican, 68 percent of whom had a favorable view of their own party versus 79 percent in October.

In contrast, 88 percent of Democrats have a favorable view of their own party. And more independents – 37 percent to 28 percent – have a favorable image of the Democratic Party compared to the GOP.

Women, blacks, Hispanics and white college graduates were all more likely to have a favorable view of the Democratic Party.

For the study, Pew surveyed 2,008 people by telephone between April 12 and 19. The overall margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.