Ben Carson is winning the popularity contest among more than just Republicans

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published 10 November 2015

Ben Carson doesn't have political experience on his side, but he certainly has popularity. A new Washington Post/ABC News poll out Tuesday reveals that the Republican presidential candidate is viewed favorably by half of the country. The last candidate to manage that was Hillary Clinton and "even then, she had significantly more detractors than Carson does today," The Washington Post reports. The retired neurosurgeon has a 50 percent favorability rating, and is viewed unfavorably by 32 percent of the general American population.

Carson's booming favorability comes from more than just fervent GOP supporters. Even though the percentage of independents who view him unfavorably has grown from 23 percent to 35 percent over the last six weeks, Carson still maintains an overall image of favorability among independents, with 47 percent viewing him favorably. Republicans favor Carson 71 percent to 18 percent.

The survey's overall results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. The margin of error among Republican voters is plus or minus seven points.