While Americans continue to hold a dim view of the leaders in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's approval rating experienced the largest decline, according to new
Gallup survey.
The public's opinion of Reid has gotten progressively worse, with his favorable score dropping from 27 percent in April to 21 percent in the survey conducted September 25-30.
House Speaker John Boehner's approval rating has declined slightly, from 31 percent to 28 percent, during the same period, but he remains the most disliked member of the congressional leadership with a 50-percent unfavorable rating compared to Reid's 45 percent.
Twenty-eight percent of Americans view Boehner favorably, and 23 percent have no opinion.
An August
Rasmussen poll also found Boehner with a higher disapproval rating than Reid, with 60 percent viewing him unfavorably, compared with 54 percent having the same view of Reid.
Gallup reports that Reid's image dropped among all political groups, but the most significant decline occurred among Democratic respondents, dropping from 54 percent to 46 percent.
"Smaller declines occurred among Republicans and independents, reflecting the fact that his scores were already so low among these groups that they didn't have much further to fall," said Gallup's Lydia Saad.
Before Reid emerged as a national figure in 2008, few Americans had heard of the Nevada senator. But since then his image "has consistently tilted negative," and now the percentage who view him favorably minus the percentage viewing him unfavorably (net favorability rating) is the worst of his career, at minus 24, according to Gallup.
In a similar Gallup survey taken in September 2013, only 33 percent approved of Reid's job performance, compared with his Republican counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose Gallup approval rating was 35 percent.
Reid's diminishing image among voters could have more of an impact in the midterm elections, Saad said, because "he is becoming far less palatable to independents, a trend that could compel his colleagues who want to repair their party's image with voters after the election to consider their alternatives."
In April, Gallup found
Reid had a favorability rating of 27 percent and an unfavorable rating of 41 percent. McConnell's favorable rating was lower at 23 percent and his unfavorable was 40 percent. However, 37 percent said they had never heard of McConnell.
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