In a new poll by JL Partners, respondents shared their one-word association when thinking of each big-name presidential candidate.
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Though when broken down by political party, the results were slightly more optimistic, especially for Trump; among all voters, the most common term attributed to Trump was 'criminal,' Desantis was labeled as a 'fascist,' and Biden was described as 'old.'
When KNX News asked Don Haider-Markel, a political science professor at the University of Kansas, if this means Americans simply do not like their presidential choices, he said, "In a word, yes."
While Don acknowledges that it has always been a characteristic of American politics for Democratic candidates to attract very few Republican voters and vice versa for Republican candidates, he believes that the significant difference for the 2024 election lies in whether the intense disapproval of all available options will prevent independents from casting a vote.
From Don's perspective, this situation highlights the limited control political parties have over determining their representatives in a presidential election.
He suggests that unless the parties are willing to modify their nomination systems, they will continue to "sort of shrug their shoulders and think that once it becomes a binary race, they'll be able to better distinguish their candidate from the opponent."
Due to the "Winner-take-all" system followed by Republicans, Don argues that they face a more significant disadvantage when selecting a representative.
He explains because of this system, even a controversial candidate like DeSantis or Trump can accumulate early victories and gain an advantage heading into Super Tuesday.
Don also points out that no matter which candidates emerge from the primary, if independent voters abstain from voting on election day, it tends to "favor a Republican candidate over a Democrat."
The poll commissioned by the Daily Mail also indicated that, dispite some recent national attention, Governor Gavin Newsom has work to do if he intends to pursue a presidential run.
Words associated with Newsom included 'unknown' and 'unsure,' while Republican Chris Christie was categorized with terms reminiscent of comments made about him by a FOX host for which the host later apologized.
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