SurveyUSA state by state approval ratings for senators

http://www.surveyusa.com/50State2005/100USSenatorApprovalRatings051213byNetApproval.htm

Brought to you by the same company that finds Bush with a positive net approval rating in only 8 states. This is a few weeks old but I don't believe it has been posted yet.

Only 2 senators have a negative net approval rating, Burns (R) from Montana and Lautenberg (D) from NJ. People seem to be much more positive about their senators than their govenors or their presidents. I am guessing it is because many people don't even pay much attention to what their senators are doing.

The top 10 (lots of ties)

Rank, State, Name, Party, Approve, Disapprove, Net approval
1 ME Snowe, Olympia R 75% 22% 53%
1 ME Collins, Susan R 74% 21% 53%
3 SD Johnson, Tim D 71% 23% 48%
4 HI Inouye, Daniel D 69% 22% 47%
5 IL Obama, Barack D 69% 23% 46%
6 ND Conrad, Kent D 70% 26% 44%
7 ND Dorgan, Byron D 69% 26% 43%
8 NE Nelson, Ben D 66% 24% 42%
9 RI Reed, Jack D 66% 25% 41%
10 AK Stevens, Ted R 67% 28% 39%
10 AZ McCain, John R 67% 28% 39%
10 MS Lott, Trent R 66% 27% 39%
10 VT Leahy, Patrick D 66% 27% 39%

Other notables

Rank, State, Name, Party, Approve, Disapprove, Net approval
20 DE Biden, Joseph D 65% 30% 35%
20 WV Byrd, Robert D 65% 30% 35%
23 IN Bayh, Evan D 63% 29% 34%
29 CT Lieberman, Joseph D 63% 31% 32%
37 NY Clinton, Hillary D 63% 33% 30%
42 NE Hagel, Chuck R 59% 31% 28%
48 MA Kennedy, Edward D 60% 35% 25%
50 KS Brownback, Sam R 58% 34% 24%
60 FL Nelson, Bill D 48% 28% 20%
63 CO Salazar, Ken D 55% 36% 19%
63 MA Kerry, John D 57% 38% 19%
70 RI Chafee, Lincoln R 54% 38% 16%
70 WI Feingold, Russell D 54% 38% 16%
75 CA Feinstein, Dianne D 52% 37% 15%
82 NV Reid, Harry D 52% 41% 11%
84 CA Boxer, Barbara D 50% 40% 10%
88 LA Landrieu, Mary D 52% 43% 9%
90 IL Durbin, Richard D 46% 39% 7%
90 TN Frist, Bill R 49% 42% 7%
95 PA Santorum, Rick R 47% 43% 4%

Whatever they think they got, this ain't it. Pure BS,page filler.

And I am glad to see Santorum toward the bottom of the list. I am pretty sure that his ratings are much worse in other polls I have seen though. This poll seems too be too nice on everyone.

Is anyone from Maine or familiar with it able to comment? I'm just curious.

And, by the way, MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody!

On a handful of high profile issues (abortion, ANWR) they are moderate - but they both still voted for the bill with ANWR in it. The Portland Press Herald said they "held their noses" and voted for it because of the heating assistance and defense contracts in the bill. Essentially, they allowed Ted Stevens to hold us hostage. But in the paper, they are protrayed as heroes. They have learned to talk a good game while voting right wing.

Both of them enjoy the moderate label but have not earned it. Every once in a while they will be allowed to vote with "the other side" when the margin of victory is already wide enough. For example, voting for controversial judges. With the margin wide enough they were able to cast votes against the judges and maintain the old "aw shucks, I'm a moderate" image. In reality, if they are needed to carry a vote they will play follow the leader.

It's too bad really, because the GOP base in this state doesn't like either of them. They buy into this "moderate" BS and don't see that they are just padding their voting stats. Both Snowe and Collins enjoy higher approval among Democrats and Independents than Republicans. If we could wake up the Democratic base to this fact we might be able to unseat them. That isn't likely to happen. I was a delegate at the Maine Democratic Convention last spring and heard more than one say, "If it weren't a vote for Frist I wouldn't mind voting for Snowe." And these are the *activists* in the party.

They also get support because of their seniority in the Senate. Snowe especially has been portrayed as the savior of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Collins the finance center in Limestone. The reality is that those facilities saved themselves with their exemplary service. Where we needed help was here in Brunswick, where politics played a much more important role. Our base is being closed and the planes and personnel are headed to Jebbyland. Rick Tetrev, the head of the base committee is the go-to guy for the media, and he has placed the blame on the governor (a Democrat) because it was obviously a case where the governor was much more important (at least in Florida). Incidentally, Tetrev was the GOP candidate in my Legislative race last year. Just a coincidence, I am sure. And, of course, when the media are quoting this guy they never mention his role in partisan politics.

When she was first elected Collins said she would only serve two terms. Her second term expires in 2008 but she is already laying the groundwork to break her promise and run again. You see, the world changed on 9/11 and her role is so much more important now that her promise no longer applies.

That was a great rundown. It sounds very familiar to me because of Senator Gordon Smith, who stakes out the same phony moderate territory but doesn't deserve moderate credentials at all.

He, like Snowe and Collins, paid a lot of lip service to protect ANWR. When the final vote on the budget bill came, he voted yes, then promptly disappeared. He has previously done the same by ostensibly supporting gay rights, when his votes never do.

And our biggest newspaper, the Oregonian, fawns all over him.

Thanks again for the Maine scoop. :hi:

#3, Tim Johnson - DLC
#6, Kent Conrad - DLC
#7, Byron Dorgan - DLC
#8, Ben Nelson - DLC

Of the 13 Senators who make up the Top10 list, 8 are Democrats and 4 are DLC.

I'd also like to make passing mention of Obama, who lately has become a little less than the favorite son on the left because of his slow "I'm vice president material" move towards the center.

Also interesting is Senators like Barbara Boxer (who I believe is a fine Senator), only manages a 52% approval rating in California and that maligned Senators (on the far left anyway) like Biden, Lieberman, Bayh, and Clinton also score very highly.

Of course, this anomaly could be waved off as polling errors or, as one poster above termed it, "bullshit."

But I think it reveals that all those here who call for shutting down who they think are DINOS are in fact not grounded in reality.

Of course, with polling suggested that the Democratic party wants the party to become more moderate, and moderate Democrats scoring highest in approval polls, we can expect more denial from some.

I cited this poll for Bush's rating, but left out the net approval ouy because it doesn't make sense. The net subtracts the disapproval from the approval. As a result, Bush's overall is -17% overall, which is why I left it out it out in my reference.


Other points to note, even though approval rating doesn't translate exactly to election results:

Lautenberg won in 2002 with 54% to his opponents 44% (which mirrors Corzine's recent win). The poll indicates Lautenberg with a -1% net approval.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/v-pfriendly/story/33196p-31464c.html


Check out where Boxer is in the poll cited: she is listed with a 10% net approval. She has one of the safest seat in the country. Boxer got 58% of the votes to win a third term in 2004; her opponent got 37%.

http://www.news10.net/storyfull1.asp?id=8427

I don't think SurveyUSA has an agenda when they consistently show Bush's numbers in the toilet, and I don't think there is an agenda here either. My guess is that SurveyUSA doesn't filter out people who don't really know anything about their senator. I have many neighbors who don't know who our senators are, and I believe if someone called them an asked "do you approve of the job senator so and so is doing?" they would say "yes."

I think Santorum's data show that this poll inflates numbers. I have seen a few other polls and they all look like he is on his way to being defeated next November.

the rest of the state is a wee bit odd. I mean Stevens is tied for 10th with a 67% approval rating!!!!! WTF is that??!!!

So to all Alaskans here I say, as a DUer represented by Lil' Ricky Santorum, I feel your pain...but at least my evil senator only as a 47% approval.