He did TOO well: Poll finds 3 in 10 Republicans wish Mike Pence were on the top of the ticket instead of Donald Trump

  • e Pence's break out performance at Monday's vice presidential debate has some Republicans wishing he were their party's nominee instead
  • He had 32 percent support to Donald Trump's 59 percent; a mere nine percent of Democrats wished Tim Kaine were the their party's nominee
  • Voters thought Pence did better in the debate than Kaine, who kept interrupting his opponent
  • Two in 10 Republicans want Kaine to run in 2020, compared to the 13 percent who want Trump to run again or Paul Ryan 

By Francesca Chambers, White House Correspondent For Dailymail.com

Published: 09:38 EST, 7 October 2016 | Updated: 11:58 EST, 7 October 2016

Mike Pence's break out performance at Monday's vice presidential debate has some Republicans wishing he were their party's nominee instead of Donald Trump.

A third of Republicans told pollsters for Morning Consult they'd prefer to have the Indiana governor at the top of the ticket. He had 32 percent support to Donald Trump's 59 percent. 

Democrats did not come away with the same impression of Tim Kaine. A mere nine percent wished the Virginia senator were the Democratic nominee instead of Hillary Clinton.

Mike Pence's break out performance at Monday's vice presidential debate has some Republicans wishing he were their party's nominee instead of Donald Trump

Mike Pence's break out performance at Monday's vice presidential debate has some Republicans wishing he were their party's nominee instead of Donald Trump

A third of Republicans told pollsters for Morning Consult they'd prefer to have the Indiana governor at the top of the ticket. Democrats did not come away with the same impression of Tim Kaine

A third of Republicans told pollsters for Morning Consult they'd prefer to have the Indiana governor at the top of the ticket. Democrats did not come away with the same impression of Tim Kaine

Kaine, pictured on Thursday in Las Vegas, was criticized for interrupting his opponent too often while Pence received high marks from pundits for letting the attacks roll off his back

Kaine, pictured on Thursday in Las Vegas, was criticized for interrupting his opponent too often while Pence received high marks from pundits for letting the attacks roll off his back

The survey was taken just after the Farmville, Virginia, general election debate between Pence and Kaine.

Kaine was criticized for interrupting his opponent too often while Pence received high marks from pundits for letting the attacks roll off his back.

Voters seemed to agree. His unfavorability rating shot up 12 points to 41 percent. Pence's was at 37 percent, up six points from 31 percent before. 

Independents were twice as likely to say in the Morning Consult poll that Pence won, 33-14.

Registered voters also thought Pence was the better debater. They said 38-20 that the Republican vice presidential nominee did the better job.

It hardly mattered to most voters, though. Just 10 percent said the VP debate changed their minds about who to cast a ballot for. Only five percent of independents said it made a difference.

Most voters, 54 percent, told Morning Consult that they didn't bother with watching the 90-minute slugfest. Of those that did, 42 percent, four in 10 said they stayed for the entire show.

Trump's standing with voters did improve afterward - 39 percent said Pence's performance left them with a more favorable impression of the billionaire than they had before compared to the 30 percent who professed to disliking him more.

The match had the opposite effect on Clinton. She came out of it with 31 percent of viewers saying the liked her more and 38 percent saying they liked her less.

The debate also had the effect of making Pence the 2020 frontrunner for the GOP nomination, however, in the case that Trump loses on Nov. 8.

Given the option of voting for Trump, Pence, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, respondents were most likely to say Pence.

The former congressman and sitting governor had 22 percent support. Trump and Ryan, the 2012 vice presidential nominee, were nine points behind him at 13 percent each. 

The debate had the effect of making Pence the 2020 frontrunner for the GOP nomination, however, in the case that Trump loses on Nov. 8

The debate had the effect of making Pence the 2020 frontrunner for the GOP nomination, however, in the case that Trump loses on Nov. 8

Cruz had the backing of 12 percent, Rubio had 11 percent and Kasich, who has already run twice before, was in the single digits at seven percent. 

Cotton, a freshman senator for Arkansas, had almost no support. He peaked the interest of one percent of voters who were surveyed. 

Many Republicans hadn't thought that far ahead - a third said they have no idea who they'd like to see compete for the GOP nomination for years from now.

Democrats were most likely to say Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, 28 percent. Kaine came in second with 16 percent, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker was third with nine percent and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came in last with eight percent support. 

 

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