Poll: Republican Favorability of Putin Spiked After Election

Republican voters have apparently warmed to Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and WikiLeaks in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, according to data from a new YouGov/Economist poll. President-elect Donald Trump's electoral win was followed by a dramatic spike in favorability for Putin by GOP participants in the poll. Democratic participants, meanwhile, now disapprove of him more than they did before November 8. In July 2014, Republicans viewed Putin with a -66 net favorability; and now, in December 2016, they view him with only a -10 negative favorability. During the same time frame, Democrats went from -54 to -62 net favorability. Additionally, in summer 2013, WikiLeaks—which released secret emails from Hillary Clinton's team during the campaign—was viewed negatively by Republicans by a 47-point margin. Today, the party's voters view the organization, founded by Julian Assange, favorably by a 27-point margin—a post-election swing by 74 points. Democrats have, unsurprisingly, moved the opposite direction in a 25-point downward swing.