After a national survey of 62,000 voters from all 50 states, approval ratings have been released for all Senators currently in Congress, including Alabama’s team of Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions.
Senator Richard Shelby has an approval rating of 59%, according to Morning Consult. 28 percent of Alabamians disapprove of Shelby while 13% don’t have an opinion.
Senator Jeff Sessions’s approval rating is slightly lower, at 54%, with 25% disapproving his work and 21% not having an opinion. Sessions’s lower approval rating may be linked to his close relationship with Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, whom he publicly endorsed in February.
Nationally, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is currently battling Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, has the highest approval rating, with an 80% favorable opinion from Vermont voters. The top ten Senators have approval ratings of 63% or higher. Of the top ten, three Senators are Republicans, two are Independents, and the remaining five are Democrats. Check out the full top ten below:
1. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) – 80%
2. Susan Collins (R-ME) – 79%
3. John Hoeven (R-ND) – 74%
4. Angus King (I-ME) – 74%
5. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) – 73%
6. Thomas Carper (D-DE) – 69%
7. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) – 68%
8. John Barrasso (R-WY) – 65%
9. Al Franken (D-MN) – 63%
10. Chris Coons (D-DE) – 63%
Interestingly, both Senators from Maine, Minnesota, Delaware, and Vermont all made the top ten list.
On the other hand, the Senator with the highest disapproval rate is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), with a 49% unfavorable opinion. Also at the bottom of the list is 2012 Republican presidential candidate John McCain (R-AZ), 2016 Republican hopeful Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Although these ten Senators have the highest disapproval rates, only McConnell and Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) have a higher disapproval rate than approval rate. The bottom ten consists of four Democrats and six Republicans, and the full list is as follows:
1. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – 49%
2. Pat Roberts (R-KS) – 42%
3. John McCain (R-AZ) – 42%
4. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) – 41%
5. Harry Reid (D-NV) – 41%
6. Marco Rubio (R-FL) – 41%
7. David Vitter (R-LA) – 40%
8. Jon Tester (D-MT) – 40%
9. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) – 38%
10. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) – 37%
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