Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has the highest net favorability among national Democrats in a new national Emerson poll, but that’s partly because more voters don’t have an opinion about him compared to most of his potential 2028 rivals.

Shapiro has been on a publicity tour for his new book, "Where We Keep the Light," and building his donor pool ahead of his reelection bid this year and a speculated 2028 presidential run.

A March 2026 Emerson College poll shows that 38% of likely voters nationally view the Pennsylvania governor favorably compared to 28% who view him unfavorably. The remaining 35% are neutral or don’t know.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, all have favorability ratings over 40%, but a higher percentage of voters view them unfavorably compared to Shapiro.

Harris, the party’s 2024 nominee who could run again, was viewed unfavorably by 47% of likely voters compared to 43% who view her favorably — a net negative rating that likely reflects greater scrutiny from more time in the national spotlight and lingering impact from GOP attacks in the 2024 election.

Ocasio-Cortez, a New York progressive who has been a frequent target of the right, also had a net negative rating among likely voters.

Shapiro, who has a net positive rating, has built a reputation in the state as a moderate who works across the aisle. He’s taken on President Donald Trump by suing him while his Republican attorney general won’t, but he also tries not to alienate supporters he shares with the president.

But primaries come before general elections, and Shapiro’s net favorability is less impressive compared to other national Democrats when the respondents are only Democratic voters.

Shapiro’s favorability rating goes up to 52% among voters in his own party. But Harris’ skyrocketed to 79%, Ocasio-Cortez’s went up to 71%, and Newsom’s was up to 70%.

Shapiro was viewed unfavorably by 13% of Democrats, the same percentage as Ocasio-Cortez and only slightly higher than Harris and Newsom.

While favorability indicates voter sentiment, it doesn’t measure who they plan to vote for. A sizable chunk of the electorate doesn’t know who they’d vote for, which makes sense seeing the field hasn’t solidified yet.

And a lot can happen before 2028.

The poll included 1,000 respondents and was conducted March 16 and 17. It has a credibility interval, which is similar to a margin of error, of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Poll findings on Trump, Iran, and the economy

The March poll found that 42% of likely voters approve of Trump’s performance as president while 51% disapprove. Compared to February, his approval rating dropped 1 point and his disapproval rating dropped 4 points from its peak in February.

A plurality of 47% respondents oppose the U.S. military attacks on Iran, while 40% support it. When it comes to Trump’s handling of foreign policy, 49% of likely voters rated his performance as poor compared to 24% who rated it as excellent. In between, 10% rated Trump’s performance as fair and 18% said it is good.

Likely voters are torn on whether Trump is prioritizing America with 53% saying he is not “putting America first” (as he promised during the campaign) and 42% who say he is. A year earlier, 48% said the administration was putting the country first, according to another Emerson poll.

Voters indicated their top issue is the economy at 34%. The next biggest issues were threats to democracy at 19%, and immigration at 13%.

The poll also found that 49% of respondents plan to vote for a Democrat for Congress in this year’s midterms, while 42% said they would support the Republican. That is, of course, before knowing who the candidates will be.

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