Americans might not like Congress but they like their U.S. senators, a new study shows. On Tuesday, Morning Consult released a study of how voters across the nation view their senators and, despite the nation’s current political mood, incumbents, including the two senators representing Florida, have much to cheer.
More than two-thirds of the U.S. Senate--69 of the 100 senators--have the approval of 50 percent or more of voters in their states. This includes Florida’s two U.S. senators: Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Marco Rubio. Only one senator--U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is disapproved by a majority of home state voters.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., now running for the Democratic presidential nomination, has the highest approval rate with 83 percent and the lowest disapproval rate at 13 percent. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has the second highest approval rate at 78 percent followed by U.S Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wy., with 73 percent approval and U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., at 71 percent approval.
Two Democrats tie with the lowest approval number. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., has 37 percent approval while 27 percent disapprove of him. Currently under investigation, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-NJ, has 37 percent approval and 36 percent disapproval.
Both Nelson and Rubio have the approval of at least half of Florida voters, the survey shows. Nelson has the approval of 52 percent of those surveyed while 23 percent disapprove of him. Despite Nelson having been active in Florida politics for decades and in the Senate since 2000, a quarter of those surveyed aren’t sure about him. Nelson is currently in his third term and is up for reelection in 2018.
Rubio is approved by 50 percent of those surveyed while 33 percent disapprove of him. First elected to the Senate in 2010, Rubio is currently running for the Republican presidential nomination and has said he will not run for a second term next year.
The survey of 5,886 Florida voters--part of a national sample of 76,569 registered voters--was taken over several months and had a margin of error of +/- 1.3 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
