The National Post: An internal Socialist Party poll of hypothetical general election match ups shows that President Capriles would lose a head-to-head race against every other opposition candidate except the CSU's Adam Harris who he beat 73-27 in 2016's second round. The poll, leaked to the National Public Broadcaster and shared with the National Post, shows Capriles losing against all of the front-runners for the Conservative, New Democrat, and Progressive parties respectively. Capriles loses 55-45 against Conservative Ariel Sigmound, 57-43 against the NDP's Laura Nyborg, and 54-46 against Ben York of the Progressives. Capriles only beat the CSU's Adam Harris 51-49, well within the poll's 3% margin of error and far lower than his second round victory less than three years ago. The poll also showed the President's public approval rating down to 33%, the lowest for a first-term president since the return of democracy in 1963.
All of this has lead senior Green Party officials, who have been in an electoral pact with the Socialists since the 1990's, to privately begin to question the viability of the pact moving forward. A senior Green Party leader told the Post that the GP is worried that they may face massive electoral defeats in several states if they continue to be associated with the unpopular president opening up the possibility the party may nominate their own candidate at their June Convention or endorse another major-party candidate. The Greens, who are in government in six of the ten states they are active in, are keen not to upset their base as the Progressives continue to erode their support according to our source. The President's Office has not responded to the Post's repeated attempt for a statement.
