Sarah Palin has yet to decide if she will run for President, but a USA Today/Gallup poll released Tuesday may give her some pause, as it finds that her popularity nationwide has sunk to a record low.
In the poll, 38% of respondents said they viewed Palin favorably, while 53% said they viewed her unfavorably. That represents the worst favorability rating Palin has posted in the Gallup poll since John McCain put her on the national stage in 2008 when he named her as his running mate.
In the last Gallup poll, from November 2010, Palin’s unfavorability rate was 52%, compared to 40% favorable.
The 53% of respondents who now say they view her unfavorably is on par with the 54% of respondents who said they viewed former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi unfavorably. Pelosi just presided over the House Dems’ loss of 63 seats.
One possible factor in Palin’s further fall from favor is her response to the shooting in Tucson. Gallup released the findings on the same day as two other polls that found that a plurality of Americans disapproved of Palin’s response to the Tucson shooting spree.
In the wake of the attacks, many pundits mentioned Palin as an example of overheated political rhetoric, citing in particular her now infamous gun sights map. Palin responded by releasing an online video accusing her critics of “blood libel,” and fighting back against the criticism leveled against her.
[TPM Slideshow: ‘We Will Heal’: The Memorial In Tucson]
Check out the trend lines:
The Gallup poll was conducted January 14-16—several days after Palin’s video went online—among 1,032 adults nationwide. It has a margin of error of 4.0%.
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