Congress has a 12% approval rating, according to the poll, which may help explain why Congressman Ryan's favorable rating is just 33%
The new Wall St. Journal/NBC News poll finds that 22 percent of likely voters say that Mitt Romney’s decision to put Rep. Paul Ryan on the Republican ticket makes them more likely to vote for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, while 23 percent say he makes them less likely to vote for Romney; 54 percent say the pick doesn’t affect their vote either way.
That margin (-1) compares with the last five vice-presidential picks like this:
| Year | Candidate | Party | VP | Helps Ticket? |
| 2012 | Mitt Romney | GOP | Paul Ryan | -1 |
| 2008 | Barack Obama | Dem | Joe Biden | +8 |
| 2008 | John McCain | GOP | Sarah Palin | +9 |
| 2004 | John Kerry | Dem | John Edwards | +21 |
| 2000 | Al Gore | Dem | Joe Lieberman | +13 | 2000 | George W. Bush | GOP | Dick Cheney | +2 |
The approval rating for Congress is at 12 percent, according to the poll, with 82 percent disapproving. This may be a part of the reason that Congressman Paul Ryan also has a remarkably weak favorable/unfavorable rating: 33 percent/32 percent.
- Section: News & Comment
- Topics: Campaign 2012, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan







