Rasmussen: Paul Ryan's favorability bottoms out after election

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) favorability rating has dropped 15 percentage points in the months since Mitt Romney selected him as a running mate, and the majority of Americans now hold an unfavorable opinion of the Wisconsin lawmaker.

Just 35 percent of respondents in a poll published this week by Rasmussen said they have a favorable impression of Ryan, while 54 percent say they have an unfavorable view. Nearly a quarter — 23 percent — say they have a very unfavorable view, while 12 percent of voters are undecided.

That represents a significant decrease from Ryan's 50 percent favorability rating in August, just after Ryan was added to the Republican ticket.

The news comes just a week after Ryan unveiled his latest House budget. Democrats have criticized the effort as a retread that threatens vital services to the poor. Ryan has argued that by reining in government spending, the economy will grow.

“The budget is a means to an end. We’re not balancing the budget as an accounting exercise. We’re not just trying to make the numbers add up. We are trying to improve people’s lives,” Ryan told the Conservative Political Action Conference last week. “Our debt is a threat to our country. We have to tackle this problem before it tackles us.”

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