Betsy DeVos Viewed Unfavorably by 40 Percent of Voters, New Poll Says

By Andrew Ujifusa — September 27, 2017 1 min read

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A public opinion survey released Wednesday reported that 28 percent of those polled have a very or somewhat favorable view of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, while 29 percent have a very unfavorable view of her.

The National Consult/Politico online poll, which dealt with the popularity of President Donald Trump’s cabinet members and various policy and political issues, found that a higher percentage of those polled gave DeVos a “very unfavorable” rating than any other cabinet member included in the poll. In addition:

Just eleven percent said they had a very favorable view of DeVos, while 17 percent had a somewhat favorable view of her.
Meanwhile, 11 percent said they had a somewhat unfavorable view of the education secretary, in addition to the 29 percent who viewed her very unfavorably.
Finally, 14 percent of those polled said they’d heard of her but had no opinion, while 18 percent said they’d never heard of DeVos.

The poll surveyed 1,987 registered voters, with a margin of error of 2 percent. It was conducted from Sept. 22 to Sept. 24. The poll surveyed a higher number of Democrats (723) than Republicans (677) and independents (586) regarding DeVos. The Trump cabinet member with the next-highest share of voters viewing him or her very unfavorably was Attorney General Jeff Sessions, with 25 percent.

Just 15 percent of Democrats viewed her favorably, while 47 percent of Republicans did so.

Here’s other number that might interest you: When asked who they trusted more to handle education, 45 percent said they trusted Democrats in Congress, while 33 percent said Republicans in Congress, and 22 percent said they either didn’t know or had no opinion.

A March online poll conducted by Saint Leo University in Florida found that over 52 percent either somewhat or strongly disapproved of DeVos. Among those surveyed, 35 percent somewhat or strongly approved of DeVos.

DeVos, a long-time champion of school choice, became a lightning rod for controversy during and after her January confirmation hearing before the Senate education committee. She has also drawn criticism for her remarks about the role of historically black colleges and universities.