Top Congressional Leaders Viewed Negatively on Balance

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans view each of the top four U.S. congressional leaders more negatively than positively as the midterm election draws near and the public's opinion of Congress as a whole remains mired in long-term low approval ratings.

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican Paul Ryan, who announced earlier this year that he is retiring in January 2019, has the most positive ratings: 40% favorable and 45% unfavorable. His resulting net -5 image score compares with his Senate counterpart, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's -26. Across the aisle, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's net favorability of -24 is similar to McConnell's, while Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer's -15 is somewhat better.

	House Speaker Paul Ryan	House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi	Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell	Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
	%	%	%	%
Favorable	40	29	24	29
Unfavorable	45	53	50	44
Unknown/No opinion	15	18	26	28
Net favorable	-5	-24	-26	-15
Gallup, June 1-13, 2018

These data are from a Gallup poll conducted June 1-13, 2018, which also found that Americans know the two members of the House better than they do the two senators. Fewer than two in 10 Americans have no opinion of Ryan (15%) or Pelosi (18%), but more than one-quarter do not have an impression of Senators McConnell (26%) and Schumer (28%).

The last time Gallup measured opinions of all four leaders was April 2017. Although Ryan's net favorable rating has since remained roughly the same, Americans' assessments of the other three leaders have worsened significantly. In April 2017, Ryan's net favorable image rating was -7, Pelosi's was -14, McConnell's was -17 and Schumer's was -5.

The current net favorable rating for McConnell is the historical worst for him since Gallup's first reading in 2010, and Pelosi's is close to her -27 record worst in October 2010.

Ratings of Leaders, by Party

McConnell is the only top congressional leader who fails to earn a majority positive rating from his own party's rank and file, as 48% of Republicans view him favorably. In contrast, Ryan's favorability is 69% among Republicans. On the Democratic side, the favorable ratings of Pelosi (55%) and Schumer (54%) are similarly positive but far from overwhelming.

The favorability ratings of McConnell, Pelosi and Schumer by their opposing party loyalists are all in the teens, while 22% of Democrats view Ryan favorably.

	Republicans	Independents	Democrats
	%	%	%
PAUL RYAN
Favorable	69	34	22
Unfavorable	23	45	66
MITCH MCCONNELL
Favorable	48	18	10
Unfavorable	36	50	65
NANCY PELOSI
Favorable	11	22	55
Unfavorable	83	52	27
CHUCK SCHUMER
Favorable	15	21	54
Unfavorable	70	45	18
Gallup, June 1-13, 2018

Pelosi has a 55% favorable rating among Democrats. This percentage matches the lowest favorability recorded for her in 2009 among her own party. Over the past 10 years, her rating among Democrats reached a high of 66% several times.

On the whole, Pelosi has had persistently net negative image ratings since 2007 when she became speaker. Before that, more Americans had no impression of her than had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of her.

Pelosi ended her term as speaker with an overall 33% favorability rating in 2011, which was somewhat higher than her successor, John Boehner's 23% rating recorded two months before he announced his retirement in 2015. By comparison, Ryan's 40% favorability rating among all Americans makes him the most popular of the last three speakers so far, although his term doesn't end until January 2019. Using history as a guide, Ryan's favorable rating would be expected to worsen as time goes on. All recent speakers left the speakership with net negative favorability ratings, much worse off than when they started.

Ryan, who reluctantly became speaker of the House following Boehner's departure in 2015, enjoyed net positive favorability ratings from the time Mitt Romney named him his vice presidential pick in 2012 until April 2017 when Democrats' views of him became increasingly negative and drove down his overall rating.

His favorability among Republicans has remained around two-thirds for the last several years.

Bottom Line

Given the current 19% job approval rating of Congress, it is not surprising that the public does not view top congressional leaders positively. Furthermore, recent history has shown that assuming the role of House speaker has had adverse effects on favorability ratings. While Ryan's image is currently the best of the lot, he still falls below majority-level favorability. Meanwhile, Americans view the two leaders who have been in office the longest, McConnell and Pelosi, the most negatively. While McConnell's term as a senator doesn't expire until 2021, Pelosi is running for re-election this November. Although she has won handily in the past and is not expected to face a serious challenge, she may want to put in more work to improve her image with her constituents.