- North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad holds the highest rating among the 100 members of the upper house in the United States, according to a poll by Survey USA. 72 per cent of respondents in the Peace Garden State approve of Conrad’s performance in the U.S. Senate.
- North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad holds the highest rating among the 100 members of the upper house in the United States, according to a poll by Survey USA. 72 per cent of respondents in the Peace Garden State approve of Conrad’s performance in the U.S. Senate.
Illinois Democrat Barack Obama is second with 73 per cent. Three senators—Maine Republican Susan Collins, North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan and Maine Republican Olympia Snowe—are tied for third place with 72 per cent, followed by South Dakota Democrat Tim Johnson with 71 per cent.
In the U.S., senators are elected to six-year terms in dual-seat constituencies. A third of the country’s upper house is renewed every two years. The Republican Party currently has a majority in the Senate, with 55 members in the 100-seat upper house.
The lowest-ranked members of the U.S. Senate are Minnesota Democrat Mark Dayton with 41 per cent, and Montana Republican Conrad Burns with 39 per cent.
The average approval rating for the Senate as a whole is 52 per cent. American voters will renew the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate on Nov. 7.
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of the performance of your U.S. senator?
State | U.S. Senator | Party | Sr/Jr | Approve | Disapprove |
ND | Conrad, Kent | D | Sr | 74% | 21% |
IL | Obama, Barack | D | Jr | 73% | 24% |
ME | Collins, Susan | R | Jr | 72% | 24% |
ND | Dorgan, Byron | D | Jr | 72% | 22% |
ME | Snowe, Olympia | R | Sr | 72% | 24% |
SD | Johnson, Tim | D | Sr | 71% | 24% |
VT | Leahy, Patrick | D | Sr | 69% | 25% |
HI | Inouye, Daniel | D | Sr | 68% | 22% |
NE | Nelson, Ben | D | Jr | 67% | 27% |
RI | Reed, Jack | D | Sr | 67% | 26% |
MS | Cochran, Thad | R | Sr | 66% | 28% |
MS | Lott, Trent | R | Jr | 66% | 31% |
WV | Byrd, Robert | D | Sr | 65% | 32% |
LA | Vitter, David | R | Jr | 65% | 29% |
NM | Domenici, Pete | R | Sr | 64% | 28% |
DE | Biden, Joseph | D | Sr | 63% | 32% |
VT | Jeffords, James | I | Jr | 63% | 31% |
AZ | McCain, John | R | Sr | 63% | 32% |
MT | Baucus, Max | D | Sr | 62% | 31% |
IA | Grassley, Charles | R | Sr | 62% | 31% |
NY | Rodham Clinton, Hillary | D | Jr | 61% | 35% |
TX | Hutchison, Kay | R | Sr | 61% | 32% |
MD | Mikulski, Barbara | D | Jr | 61% | 31% |
AK | Stevens, Ted | R | Sr | 61% | 34% |
WY | Thomas, Craig | R | Sr | 61% | 31% |
ID | Crapo, Michael | R | Jr | 60% | 29% |
WY | Enzi, Michael | R | Jr | 60% | 30% |
UT | Hatch, Orrin | R | Sr | 60% | 34% |
WV | Rockefeller, Jay | D | Jr | 60% | 35% |
DE | Carper, Thomas | D | Jr | 59% | 30% |
IN | Lugar, Richard | R | Sr | 59% | 33% |
AR | Pryor, Mark | D | Jr | 59% | 34% |
NY | Schumer, Charles | D | Sr | 59% | 34% |
ID | Craig, Larry | R | Sr | 58% | 33% |
OR | Wyden, Ron | D | Sr | 58% | 30% |
IN | Bayh, Evan | D | Jr | 57% | 36% |
NM | Bingaman, Jeff | D | Jr | 57% | 33% |
SC | Graham, Lindsey | R | Sr | 57% | 36% |
AL | Sessions, Jeff | R | Jr | 57% | 33% |
CT | Dodd, Christopher | D | Sr | 56% | 37% |
CO | Ken Salazar | D | Jr | 56% | 36% |
MA | Kennedy, Edward | D | Sr | 56% | 40% |
WI | Kohl, Herb | D | Sr | 56% | 37% |
AL | Shelby, Richard | R | Sr | 56% | 35% |
SD | Thune, John | R | Jr | 56% | 41% |
VA | Warner, John | R | Sr | 56% | 35% |
UT | Bennett, Robert | R | Jr | 55% | 33% |
WA | Cantwell, Maria | D | Jr | 55% | 38% |
NE | Hagel, Chuck | R | Sr | 55% | 38% |
IA | Harkin, Tom | D | Jr | 55% | 39% |
LA | Landrieu, Mary | D | Sr | 55% | 42% |
MI | Levin, Carl | D | Sr | 55% | 38% |
AK | Murkowski, Lisa | R | Jr | 55% | 39% |
NC | Dole, Elizabeth | R | Sr | 54% | 40% |
TN | Alexander, Lamar | R | Jr | 53% | 38% |
CA | Feinstein, Dianne | D | Sr | 53% | 42% |
AZ | Kyl, Jon | R | Jr | 53% | 36% |
CT | Lieberman, Joseph | D | Jr | 53% | 43% |
AR | Lincoln, Blanche | D | Sr | 53% | 40% |
WA | Murray, Patty | D | Sr | 53% | 39% |
CA | Boxer, Barbara | D | Jr | 52% | 42% |
NV | Reid, Harry | D | Sr | 52% | 43% |
MO | Talent, Jim | R | Jr | 52% | 41% |
HI | Akaka, Daniel | D | Jr | 51% | 40% |
VA | Allen, George | R | Jr | 51% | 38% |
MO | Bond, Kit | R | Sr | 51% | 41% |
RI | Chafee, Lincoln | R | Jr | 51% | 44% |
MN | Coleman, Norm | R | Jr | 51% | 43% |
WI | Feingold, Russ | D | Jr | 51% | 44% |
NH | Gregg, Judd | R | Sr | 51% | 40% |
GA | Isakson, Johnny | R | Jr | 51% | 35% |
KY | McConnell, Mitch | R | Sr | 51% | 41% |
OR | Smith, Gordon | R | Jr | 51% | 38% |
PA | Specter, Arlen | R | Sr | 51% | 43% |
MI | Stabenow, Debbie | D | Jr | 51% | 42% |
KS | Brownback, Sam | R | Sr | 50% | 40% |
OK | Coburn, Tom | R | Jr | 50% | 40% |
NV | Ensign, John | R | Jr | 50% | 38% |
GA | Chambliss, Saxby | R | Sr | 49% | 37% |
IL | Durbin, Richard | D | Sr | 49% | 43% |
TN | Frist, Bill | R | Sr | 49% | 44% |
MA | Kerry, John | D | Jr | 49% | 44% |
OK | Inhofe, James | R | Sr | 48% | 40% |
KS | Roberts, Pat | R | Jr | 48% | 39% |
PA | Santorum, Rick | R | Jr | 48% | 45% |
MD | Sarbanes, Paul | D | Sr | 48% | 39% |
TX | Cornyn, John | R | Jr | 47% | 39% |
FL | Nelson, Bill | D | Sr | 47% | 38% |
NH | Sununu, John | R | Jr | 47% | 45% |
SC | DeMint, Jim | R | Jr | 46% | 44% |
KY | Bunning, Jim | R | Jr | 45% | 44% |
CO | Allard, Wayne | R | Sr | 43% | 44% |
NJ | Lautenberg, Frank | D | Sr | 43% | 46% |
OH | Voinovich, George | R | Jr | 43% | 48% |
NC | Burr, Richard | R | Jr | 42% | 45% |
OH | DeWine, Mike | R | Sr | 42% | 48% |
FL | Martinez, Mel | R | Jr | 42% | 46% |
NJ | Menendez, Robert | D | Jr | 42% | 43% |
MN | Dayton, Mark | D | Sr | 41% | 48% |
MT | Burns, Conrad | R | Jr | 39% | 55% |
U.S. Average | 52% | 39% |
Source: SurveyUSA
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 600 adult residents of each of the country’s 50 states, conducted from Aug. 11 to Aug. 13, 2006. Margins of error for each state range from 3.8 to 4.1 per cent.
