IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

First polls indicate Paul Ryan has a lot of work to do

Mitt Romney's choice for vice president may have excited the Republican base, but it has yet to catch fire with most American voters.According to a

Mitt Romney's choice for vice president may have excited the Republican base, but it has yet to catch fire with most American voters.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll out today, 26 percent said they viewed Romney more favorably after he added Congressman Paul Ryan to the ticket on Saturday, while 23 percent said they viewed him less favorably.   

And by a margin of 44 percent to 29 percent, voters said Vice President Joe Biden is more qualified than Ryan to serve as president.  

Meantime, a USA Today/Gallup Poll, also released today, found that 42% see Ryan as a "fair" or "poor" choice, while 39% rated him as "pretty good" or "excellent" vice-presidential choice.

While Ryan rates worse than Dick Cheney in 2000 and Sarah Palin in 2008 in this category, he does poll better than Dan Quayle did in 1988.


The poll also found 17% of adults say they are more likely to vote for Romney in November because Ryan is his running mate. That's slightly less than 18% of Americans who said the same for John McCain following Sarah Palin’s vice presidential nomination in 2008.