Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) doesn't seem to be ending his year on a high note, and that was especially the case in the opinion of many Republicans, given how he handled the spending bill debacle.
According to Breitbart, the results of a straw poll at AmericaFest, which was recently held in Phoenix, Arizona, revealed that Johnson's popularity within the conservative movement has plummeted.
Results of the poll were posted by Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, and they were definitely not the results Johnson and his office were hoping for.
Johnson clearly hurt his reputation in his perceived failure to negotiate a good spending bill while trying to pass one that was packed with excessive spending for pet projects and pork.
The people at AmericaFest certainly spoke, and according to the poll, they did not speak highly of Johnson, as the current Speaker only received 22% support.
EXCLUSIVE — Every year, we conduct a straw poll of attendees at AmericaFest to check the pulse of the conservative grassroots. We just got the results of this year's straw poll, and here are the highlights:
-71% of respondents STRONGLY support primary challenges to Republican… pic.twitter.com/T16yo2CJD0
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) December 27, 2024
Most attendees, at 62%, disapproved of his performance as House Speaker -- a position he's held now for roughly a year. Johnson was the last one standing after the ouster of Kevin McCarthy, and early on, was cheered on by most of the party.
Breitbart noted:
The straw poll also asked attendees, “Do you think Mike Johnson should remain Speaker of the U.S. House?”
Most, 58.8 percent, said that he should not remain Speaker, and only 13.7 percent believe he should remain Speaker. Over one-quarter, 27.5 percent, remain unsure:
The results of the straw poll lined up with recent results of formal polls that show Johnson's popularity as Speaker is in the ditch.
His numbers have steadily declined since taking the gavel, which happened as a result of his bad decisions with certain bills.
There was no shortage of opinions on Johnson's performance as Speaker across social media.
"This reflects the sentiment of all real Americans," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "Weak Mike has got to go. He negotiated a rotten deal, and defended it."
It'll be interesting to see if Johnson is able to maintain his grip on the leadership come the next Speaker election. Doubtful, many say.
