Majority Sees Biden Unfavorably in Poll as Views of Ryan Split

A poll released in advance of tomorrow night’s vice presidential debate found a slim majority of registered voters view Vice President Joe Biden unfavorably and are divided on Republican Paul Ryan.

The survey released today by the Pew Research Center found 51 percent of registered voters had an unfavorable opinion of Biden, compared with 39 percent who viewed him favorably. Republican nominee Ryan, a U.S. representative from Wisconsin, was viewed favorably by 44 percent and unfavorably by 40 percent.

A separate survey found that 40 percent of registered voters said Ryan would do a better job in the debate than Biden, who was favored by 34 percent.

The two will debate in Danville, Kentucky, as polls show a surge of support for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney following his performance in an Oct. 3 debate in Denver with President Barack Obama.

The Pew survey of 1,201 registered voters taken Oct. 4-7 had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. The separate poll of 812 registered voters asked about which candidate would do better in the debate had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. It also was conducted Oct. 4-7.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jeanne Cummings at jcummings21@bloomberg.net.