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Confirmation fight hurts Hagel’s favorability
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel’s difficult and drawn out confirmation fight has hurt his favorability among the public, although most people still don’t know President Obama’s Defense secretary nominee.
A new poll released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center finds that the public’s view of Hagel (R-Neb.) has grown more negative in the past month after he faced a difficult confirmation hearing, a stream of criticism from Republicans and the first ever filibuster of a Defense secretary nominee.
The latest Pew poll found 28 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Hagel, compared to 22 percent with a favorable view.
In Pew’s January poll, more respondents had a favorable opinion: 18 percent compared to 17 percent unfavorable.
Hagel’s nomination has faced substantial criticism from Republicans and conservative groups, and Republicans led a filibuster of his nomination last week. They said they were only delaying it until the Senate returns from recess next week so senators have more time to look at his record.
Among Republican respondents, Hagel was disliked by more than a 2-to-1 ratio, as 36 percent had unfavorable views compared to 15 percent favorable. Hagel’s favorability rating was 15-26 in January.
Democrats had a favorable view of the president’s Defense secretary nominee — who is a Republican — by a 31-23 margin.
