Favorability Polls. What do They Really Mean?

[sargentodiaz]

It makes no sense to me that media outlets constantly tell us how Trump cannot be elected because he does so badly in the polls about this. I wonder why they zone in on Trump and not the others. Is it because he's taking $$$ out of their pockets? Just think of those losing money because they can't produce, distribute, and sell political ads for him. Or the media outlets losing the revenue for airing them.

Well, if one takes the time to check it out, it appears that almost NONE of the current candidates are doing all that well. Here are some excerpts from the 2016 Candidate Favorability Ratings from RealClear Politics @ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/favorable_unfavorable.html

                                                     Favorable     Unfavorable
Clinton    3/3-4/4                          40.2              54.2
Cruz     3/3-4/4                              32.3              53.4
(Biden)   9/17-3/29                        47.4              36.6
Sanders     3/16-4/3                        47.6              42.3

And it had nothing for Trump or Kasich

But then, The Politico Polling Center shows these results:

Featured Poll
2016 New York Republican Primary
Monmouth University
April 3-5, 2016
302 likely Republican primary voters

Margin of error: +/- 5.6

R Donald Trump    52%
R John Kasich    25%
R Ted Cruz    17%
Undecided    6%

Read more: http://www.politico.com/polls/#ixzz45FDBCzbI

2016 California Republican Primary
The Field Poll
March 24-April 4, 2016
558 likely Republican primary voters
Margin of error: +/- 4.0

R Donald Trump    39%
R Ted Cruz    32%
R John Kasich    18%
Others/undecided    11%

Read more: http://www.politico.com/polls/#ixzz45FDPnMb

2016 Democratic Primary
McClatchy-Marist
March 29-31, 2016
497 Democratic and Democratic-leaning independent voters
Margin of error: +/- 4.4

I Bernie Sanders    49%
D Hillary Clinton    47%
Undecided    4%
Other    1%

Read more: http://www.politico.com/polls/#ixzz45FDt1WBV

And I see nothing for the New York Democrat primary.

I will repeat, what do all these polls REALLY mean? And why the blanks? Any of you who can fill those in will be appreciated.

[txradioguy]

What it means...is that since these polls have been conducted...is that no one has ever won the Presidency with negative numbers as high as Trumps.

Its funny to start to see Trumpidians like you start to try and find excuses to ignore them.

[thundley4]

What it means...is that since these polls have been conducted...is that no one has ever won the Presidency with negative numbers as high as Trumps.

Its funny to start to see Trumpidians like you start to try and find excuses to ignore them.

Trump has also lost in every head to head matchup poll against Hillary.

[freedumb2003b]

What no poll?  Blown opportunity.

;)

[SighLass]

I will repeat, what do all these polls REALLY mean?

It means Trump has a very loyal fanbase but it doesn't extend much further than that. Hillary was known for how much people despised her yet this election round GOP voters have managed to come close to nominating someone that is even more despised. Some of Trump's unpopularity is due to the liberal press, but much of it is just due to Trump being Trump. It endears some, but alienates most other voters. This election process has been one of the rudest ones I can remember and I guess that is due to the strong contrast between Trump and Cruz yet trying to fit in the same square.