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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

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No.

At their peak, the unfavorability ratings of Republican vice presidents Dan Quayle (1989-93) and Dick Cheney (2001–09) exceeded that of Kamala Harris.

Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents western Wisconsin, claimed July 29, 2024, that until a couple weeks earlier, Harris “was the most unpopular vice president” since polling began.

His staff did not reply to emails requesting evidence.

Polls commonly ask respondents whether they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about a politician.

Experts cautioned that polling on vice presidents beyond recent decades is limited.

Among registered voters nationally, Quayle’s unfavorability peaked at 63% (ABC) and Cheney’s at 61% (Fox), according to the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.

Harris’ peaked at 58% (YouGov) in September 2023.

Her unfavorability was 55% on July 15, two weeks before Van Orden’s claim.

Harris has been vice president since January 2021. She became the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Aug. 5.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

omny.fm: Guest: Congressman Derrick Van Orden – The Meg Ellefson Show 072924 – The Meg Ellefson Show

Google Docs: Roper Center for Public Opinion Research email 8/7/24.docx

YouGov: Kamala Harris favorability

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Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time reporter in October 2024. He started as a fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He is a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.