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Potential 2016 candidates Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney have earned plenty of headlines after publicly acknowledging that they’re revving up likely presidential campaigns, but, so far, they haven’t gained positive marks from the public, according to the newest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

In fact, both candidates have lost ground since pollsters last measured Americans’ feelings towards them – including a dip in approval from members of their own party.

Just 27 percent of Americans now offer a positive rating for Romney, the Republican party’s nominee in 2012, compared to 40 percent who give him negative marks. And just over half of Republicans – 52 percent – give him a thumbs up, while 15 percent disagree.

In September of last year, when Romney was widely expected NOT to seek the presidency again, his ratings stood at 32 percent positive/ 39 percent negative. With Republicans, that split was 60 percent positive/ 13 percent negative.

While former Florida governor Jeb Bush is not quite as well-known as Romney, with 13 percent of respondents saying they don’t know the name, he’s also seen a drop in approval since announcing that he’s “actively exploring” a 2016 run. (Read more about the poll having bad news for Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush HERE)