Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has earned the status of the most unpopular senator, a Monday Morning Consult poll revealed.
McConnell’s approval rating is just 33 percent, while his disapproval is 60 percent, giving him a net approval rating of -27 percent.
McConnell’s approval rating is worse than his fellow Republican establishment senators: Susan Collins of Maine (47-49 percent), Lisa Murkowski of Alaska (45-45 percent), and Mitt Romney of Utah (48-43 percent).
On April 7, McConnell was asked by Axios reporter Jonathan Swan about why Republicans “hate” him so much. “Recent polls show your approval ratings are in the 30s among Republicans, not Democrats — Republicans,” Swan prefaced. “Why do they hate you?”
“My job is not to run up political popularity nationally,” McConnell responded. “I’m not running for anything nationally.”
McConnell’s history reflects the swampy politics of the Washington, DC, establishment. According to a report from the New York Times last week, McConnell was grateful to Democrats for launching Donald Trump’s impeachment trial after January 6.
“The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a bitch for us,” McConnell purportedly said. “If this isn’t impeachable, I don’t know what is.”
Donald Trump has reportedly been pushing for McConnell’s ouster as Senate GOP leader. Trump has reportedly asked Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) to contest McConnell for the position. Scott has simply stated that he is focused on reclaiming the Senate from Democrats in 2022.
A number of Senate Republican primary candidates have vocally opposed McConnell’s reelection to the position, including Missouri candidate Eric Greitens and Trump-backed Alaskan candidate Kelly Tshibaka.
If McConnell remains leader, he would become the longest-serving Republican Senate leader. McConnell was first elected in 2006 and was reelected eight consecutive times thereafter.
McConnell’s record as Senate leader is shoddy. The national debt has grown by over $20 trillion, illegal immigration has continued, and real wages for American workers have remained stagnant since the 1970s. Obamacare was enacted in 2010. Big banks were bailed out in 2008, and social media companies have silenced individuals without repercussions. Dr. Anthony Fauci has not been held accountable for allegedly lying twice to Congress.
The poll was conducted from January 1 – March 31 among representative samples of registered voters in each state. The margin of error is +/-5 percentage points.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.