Poll: 69 percent of voters don't want a political newcomer as president

A new poll from The Wall Street Journal and NBC News found that a majority of voters (69 percent) don't want a president who lacks political experience.

Declared 2016 candidates Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, and Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, both lack experience in elected office, the Journal notes, as does Donald Trump, who has not officially announced a White House bid.

Poll respondents from both the Democratic and Republican parties also indicated that they were hesitant to elect a president without a college degree, which the Journal notes could be a challenge for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R). Fifty-eight percent of Republicans were "very uncomfortable" or had "some reservations" about electing a president without a degree.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Journal/NBC News poll was conducted from April 26-30 and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.