In the race for low popularity among congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is suddenly leading the pack, particularly within his own party.
A new Gallup poll shows the Nevada Democrat suffering from the lowest public opinion in his entire career. His popularity rating has sunk from 27 percent in April to 21 percent now.
Reid’s low rating is worse than that of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who polls show is another generally unpopular public figure.
Boehner is viewed favorably by 28 percent of U.S. adults polled by Gallup, down from 31 percent in April.
Reid’s favorability rating drop is most acute among Democrats, dropping eight percentage points since April, to 46 percent.
Reid’s favorability rating dropped less among independents, but not for an ominous reason.
Those scores, Gallup said, “were already so low … that they didn’t have much further to fall.”
But when it comes to rating congressional leaders unfavorably, Boehner is looked upon more negatively among Republicans than Reid is within his own party, Gallup found.
Boehner is viewed unfavorably by 40 percent of Republican adults.
Reid’s unfavorable rating among Democrats is only 16 percent.
Gallup officials said Boehner’s image may have suffered within his own party because of the 2013 spending stalemate in Congress that resulted in a 16-day government shutdown and his effort to push immigration reform this year.
The telephone-based poll of 1,252 adults was conducted between Sept. 25-30 and has a margin of error of plus of minus three percentage points.
