Poll: Most Republicans prefer candidates who encourage vaccination, oppose mandates

A new CBS News/YouGov poll released on Sunday shed some light on how Republican voters prefer their party's candidates approach the issue of COVID-19 vaccinations.

A healthy majority — 64 percent — want to vote for a GOP candidate who actively encourages people to get their shots. But an even greater number — 75 percent — would rather that candidate also oppose vaccine mandates. In short, the poll suggests the consensus opinion of Republican voters is that getting vaccinated is a smart, but ultimately individual, decision.

Meanwhile, 90 percent of Democrats prefer candidates who encourage vaccinations, and pro-mandate candidates received nearly as much love, with 86 percent of voters expressing their preference for that viewpoint.

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The CBS News/YouGov poll was conducted between October 6-8 among 2,054 American adult residents. The margin of error is 2.6 percentage points. Read the full results at CBS News.