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

Carly Fiorina
(Image credit: Darren McCollester/Stringer/Getty Images)

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.

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

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.