If past presidents could run today, which would you vote for? What Americans say in poll

If the presidents carved into Mount Rushmore could run for office today, they would likely win in a landslide, new polling reveals.

A Sept. 30 YouGov poll found that — while politicians today are incredibly polarizing — many past presidents enjoy high levels of popularity across partisan lines.

Majorities of Democrats and Republicans said they had favorable opinions of eight of 10 past presidents and that, if they were running this year, they would vote for four of them.

The poll, conducted between Aug. 9 and 12, sampled 1,102 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

Favorability ratings

The poll asked respondents for their thoughts on the following past presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama.

Lincoln had the highest favorability rating overall, with 84% saying they were very or somewhat favorable toward him.

He was followed by Washington (78%), Kennedy (75%) and Theodore Roosevelt (73%).

Truman and Obama had the lowest favorability ratings — 56% and 57%, respectively.

All of the men except Reagan and Obama — the two most recent presidents of the 10 — received favorability ratings higher than 50% among both Republicans and Democrats.

For example, Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, was viewed favorably by 76% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans.

And Eisenhower, a Republican, was similarly viewed favorably by 72% of Republicans and 61% of Democrats.

Would you vote for them today?

Respondents were also asked whether they would vote for the 10 past presidents if they were running again this year.

Seventy-six percent of respondents said they would likely vote for Lincoln, making him the president most likely to be voted for.

Following him were Kennedy (70%), Washington (67%), Theodore Roosevelt (62%) and Jefferson (58%).

The only two presidents who didn’t receive a majority were Reagan (49%) and Truman (47%).

Additionally, a majority of Democrats and Republicans said they would likely vote for four of them: Lincoln, Washington, Kennedy and Theodore Roosevelt.

Lincoln received the highest share of members of both parties — with 79% of Democrats and the same share of Republicans saying they’d likely vote for him.

Fifty-eight percent of Democrats said they’d likely vote for Washington, while a much larger share of Republicans, 80%, said the same.

Theodore Roosevelt received the support of 69% of Republicans and 57% of Democrats, and Kennedy received the backing of 79% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans.

On the other hand, the partisan divides were significant when it came to the two most recent presidents.

When asked about Reagan, 82% of Republicans and 22% of Democrats said they’d likely cast their ballots for him. And for Obama the divide was even starker, with 91% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans saying they’d likely back him.

This story was originally published October 4, 2024 at 12:58 PM with the headline "If past presidents could run today, which would you vote for? What Americans say in poll."