Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky remains the least popular politician in the country, according to a new poll out Monday.
A Monmouth survey of more than 800 adults 18 and older indicates that 60 percent of respondents disapprove of the GOP Senate chief’s job performance. Only 6 percent of respondents said they approve of it. McConnell earned the lowest overall approval rating among congressional leadership and “is the only leader to receive a net negative score from his fellow partisans.” Just 10 percent of Republicans said they approve of his performance, and 41 percent said they felt otherwise.
The Monmouth University survey also found President Joe Biden’s approval rating at an “all-time low” with “particularly poor marks for his handling of immigration and inflation.”
“Only 3 in 10 Americans say the incumbent is giving enough attention to the issues most important to them, which is worse than for his predecessor,” Monmouth reported.
The poll, conducted between Nov. 30 and Dec. 4 with a 4.8 percent margin of error, means McConnell’s approval could be as low as 1 percent.
The survey’s findings corroborate similar results from previous polls highlighting McConnell’s unpopularity. According to RealClearPolitics’ aggregate of favorability ratings for both Republicans and Democrats, McConnell has remained the most unpopular political leader in the country for years. As of writing, the Republican Senate leader suffers a nearly -40 percent approval rating in the RealClear tracker. Vice President Kamala Harris follows with a net-negative approval rating of nearly -20 percent, and Biden’s approval rating is nearly -17 percent. President Donald Trump, whom former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley claimed in August was the most “disliked politician in all of America,” has about a -16 percent approval rating in the RealClear aggregate.
RealClearPolitics’ popularity tracker has yet to be updated to include rankings for Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
McConnell’s low approval ratings reflect a Republican Senate chief unpopular both with Democrat opponents and grassroots conservatives in the Kentucky senator’s own party. Last fall, McConnell undermined Republican efforts to reclaim the upper chamber by redirecting scarce resources from competitive races in key states to a contest between two Republicans in Alaska. In November last year, despite his unpopularity, McConnell survived a challenge to his perch at the top of Senate leadership.
Despite a series of recent public health scares, the Republican Senate leader says he has no plans to leave Capitol Hill before his latest term expires in 2027.
On Sunday, 15 Senate Republicans blasted the GOP leader for working behind the scenes with Democrats to pass new funding for the proxy war with Russia in Ukraine. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson led the letter with 14 GOP colleagues demanding Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming call a meeting to discuss border security.
[READ: Republicans Deserve A Senate Leader Willing To Defend Their Interests Over Democrats’]
