Most Americans haven’t heard a lot about the December election in Great Britain (just 11% say they have), but they do have an opinion. Most in the latest Economist/YouGov Poll agree that America has a special relationship with the United Kingdom – it (along with Canada) is one of the few countries majorities regard as allies of the United States.
The relative lack of attention doesn’t mean that Americans have no opinions about their election. Those with opinions aren’t keen on either of the major contenders for the Prime Minister’s position. Both Boris Johnson, leader of the Conservative Party and Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party leader, aren’t held in high regard from the US public. Johnson is better known (two in three don’t have any opinion about Corbyn), but both are more disliked than liked.
Clearly, Republicans and Democrats recognize that one man may be closer than the other to their own political preferences.
Just as US opinion about Brexit is tied to political identification here, with Republicans supporting the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, and Democrats favoring Remain, Republicans take the side of the candidate who is attempting to manage the UK’s departure, while Democrats choose Corbyn or “someone else (there are multiple parties running in the December 12 vote)
Though Johnson (34%) has more support than Corbyn (22%), when looking at just the two of them, just as many say they would prefer someone other than Johnson as Britain’s Prime Minister as say Johnson is their choice.
Americans admit that the United States has interfered in other countries' elections at some point in the past, though they doubt this has happened recently. Nearly half believe it would matter a lot to them if the United States did interfere in a foreign country, with Democrats far more likely than Republicans to say this. More in both parties would be sensitive to foreign interference in a US election, though once again, more Democrats than Republicans say it would matter a lot to them.
See the full toplines and tables results from this week’s Economist/YouGov poll.
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