GOP voters like Marjorie Taylor Greene more than ever after Democrats stripped her of committee seats

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GOP voters like Marjorie Taylor Greene more than ever after Democrats stripped her of committee seats
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) walks through the U.S. Capitol as Democrats debate one article of impeachment against U.S. President Donald Trump, in Washington, U.S., January 13, 2021.REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
  • Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has seen a boost in popularity among Republicans and name recognition among voters broadly.
  • While she's seen a 11-point jump in favorability among GOP voters, just 18% of voters overall view her favorably.
  • Greene's new prominence and polarizing nature may both help her and hurt her party.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right Georgian who was stripped of her committee assignments over her support for conspiracy theories, has seen a boost in popularity among Republicans amid the controversy.

Greene saw an 11 point jump in approval among Republican voters in one week, while the 23 percent of GOP voters who view her unfavorably stayed constant, according to new polling by Morning Consult.

Greene dominated headlines last week as House Democrats and 11 Republicans voted to remove her from the House education and labor Committee and the budget committee. The removals followed new reporting exposing her endorsement of political violence and lies about mass school shootings. The vast majority of House Republicans, including leadership, stood behind Greene amid the backlash.

The congresswoman's name recognition is also up. Just weeks into her first term in Congress, Greene is now as well-known among voters - 59% know her - as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. But Greene is quite unpopular among American voters overall. Just 18% of voters view her favorably, while 41% view her unfavorably.

Greene's new prominence and polarizing nature may both help her and hurt her party, giving her a more prominent platform and damaging the GOP's image among moderate voters.

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Her reception on the right is much like former President Donald Trump's, who saw his popularity among the GOP base surge as his controversial rhetoric and policy positions dominated news coverage during the 2016 Republican presidential primary. About half of the House GOP caucus gave Greene a standing ovation in a private meeting last week during which she distanced herself from some of the conspiracy theories she's embraced. The congresswoman has successfully fundraised off of the controversy, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations in recent days.

Meanwhile, Democrats are looking to make Greene the new face of the Republican party, mirroring the GOP's aggressive attempts to paint progressive Democratic firebrands like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow "Squad" members as the face of their party. And that strategy may well work, given that Greene is increasingly unpopular among non-GOP voters.

Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of GOP leadership who's recently made waves for supporting Trump's impeachment, also saw her popularity rise - 7 points, according to the poll - over the past week after some of her colleagues failed in their attempt to oust her from leadership. But significantly more Republicans have an unfavorable view of Cheney than they do of Greene.

The Morning Consult poll of 1,986 registered voters was conducted from Feb. 5-7 and has a margin of error of two percentage points.

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