Battleground Washington: Trump approval more than twice McConnell’s

The just out George Washington University Battleground Poll has McConnell with a very low 19 percent approval rating going into the fall legislative season. Some 56 percent disapprove of him.

By comparison, Trump’s approval rating, also low at 41 percent, is more than twice McConnell’s. Another 56 percent disapprove of the president.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, who until today’s angry Trump tweet has gone uncriticized by the Oval Office, has an approval rating that is closer to Trump’s, at 36 percent, with a 48 percent disapproval.

From the poll release:

Voters held congressional leaders in similarly low regard. Views of House Speaker Paul Ryan were unfavorable (48 percent) with only about a third viewing him positively (36 percent). Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell received less praise than Speaker Ryan: 46 percent of voters view Sen. McConnell unfavorably, while only 19 percent see him favorably. On the other side of the aisle, half (50 percent) of poll respondents viewed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi unfavorably and a third (34 percent) were favorable towards her. Views of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were mixed (27 percent favorable, 29 unfavorable), although he had lower name recognition (29 percent had never heard of him).

Other legislators with national profiles fared better. John McCain, who cast the deciding vote against changing the Affordable Care Act in late July, enjoyed a considerably higher favorability rating of 53 percent, with 36 percent of those polled holding an unfavorable view of the Arizona senator. Former Democratic presidential candidate and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders had mostly favorable results (52 percent favorable, 39 unfavorable) and newly prominent California Sen. Kamala Harris received more positive responses than not (16 vs. 9 percent), but a majority (62 percent) had never heard of her.

“In the 2016 election, a notable portion of the electorate had a negative impression of Trump but still voted for him. These voters decided the alternative was even worse or that they could endure some boorish behavior in exchange for substantial changes in Washington,” pollster Ed Goeas, president and CEO of The Tarrance Group, said. “In the 2018 election, Republican candidates will have a similar opportunity to provide voters with both the opportunity to continue making changes for the better on issues that matter while avoiding the failed policies of the past that the Democrats will be offering.”

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]