68% View Schwarzenegger Unfavorably
News of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s marital infidelity and the resulting love child appears to have made a serious dent in the returning movie star's audience base.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 68% of American Adults now hold an unfavorable view of Schwarzenegger, including 29% who view the former California “governator” Very Unfavorably. Just 25% still have a favorable view of him, with just three percent (3%) who hold a Very Favorable view. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Not that his years in public office have done him much good recently. In October, leading up to Schwarzenegger’s final days as governor, just 35% of California voters even somewhat approved of his job performance, while 64% disapproved. In 2006, when Schwarzenegger was running for reelection, 56% of the state's voters held a favorable view of him.
By contrast, Schwarzenegger’s now estranged wife, Maria Shriver, fares much better. Sixty-two percent (62%) of adults have a favorable opinion of the ex-NBC news anchor and member of the Kennedy clan, including 22% with a Very Favorable view. Just 23% view Shriver unfavorably, with five percent (5%) who view her Very Unfavorably. Fifteen percent (15%) don’t offer an opinion.
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The national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on May 18-19, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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