Polls & Research
Archive Search
Obama, Snowe and Conrad Are Top U.S. Senators
- Illinois Democrat Barack Obama, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe and North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad are the most popular members of the upper house in the United States, according to a poll by Survey USA. 72 per cent of respondents approve of their performance in the U.S. Senate.
North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan is next on the list with 70 per cent, followed by four senators—Hawaii Democrat Daniel Inouye, Maine Republican Susan Collins, Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed and Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy—with 69 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 39 per cent, Montana Republican Conrad Burns with 37 per cent, and Colorado Republican Wayne Allard with 36 per cent.
The average approval rating for the Senate as a whole is 53 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 |
IL | Obama, Barack | D | Jr | 72% | 22% |
ME | Snowe, Olympia | R | Sr | 72% | 24% |
ND | Conrad, Kent | D | Sr | 72% | 23% |
ND | Dorgan, Byron | D | Jr | 70% | 25% |
HI | Inouye, Daniel | D | Sr | 69% | 24% |
ME | Collins, Susan | R | Jr | 69% | 27% |
RI | Reed, Jack | D | Sr | 69% | 26% |
VT | Leahy, Patrick | D | Sr | 69% | 27% |
MS | Lott, Trent | R | Jr | 68% | 28% |
NE | Nelson, Ben | D | Jr | 68% | 27% |
SD | Johnson, Tim | D | Sr | 67% | 26% |
WV | Rockefeller, Jay | D | Jr | 67% | 29% |
LA | Vitter, David | R | Jr | 66% | 29% |
MS | Cochran, Thad | R | Sr | 66% | 28% |
IN | Lugar, Richard | R | Sr | 65% | 29% |
AK | Stevens, Ted | R | Sr | 64% | 31% |
IA | Grassley, Charles | R | Sr | 64% | 30% |
WV | Byrd, Robert | D | Sr | 64% | 33% |
DE | Biden, Joseph | D | Sr | 63% | 33% |
DE | Carper, Thomas | D | Jr | 62% | 31% |
ID | Crapo, Michael | R | Jr | 62% | 30% |
NY | Schumer, Charles | D | Sr | 62% | 33% |
NY | Rodham Clinton, Hillary | D | Jr | 62% | 36% |
NC | Dole, Elizabeth | R | Sr | 62% | 32% |
WY | Thomas, Craig | R | Sr | 62% | 29% |
VT | Jeffords, James | I | Jr | 61% | 30% |
WY | Enzi, Michael | R | Jr | 61% | 31% |
MD | Mikulski, Barbara | D | Jr | 60% | 34% |
NM | Domenici, Pete | R | Sr | 60% | 32% |
TX | Hutchison, Kay | R | Sr | 60% | 31% |
AZ | McCain, John | R | Sr | 59% | 37% |
ID | Craig, Larry | R | Sr | 59% | 35% |
MA | Kennedy, Edward | D | Sr | 59% | 37% |
IN | Bayh, Evan | D | Jr | 58% | 36% |
NM | Bingaman, Jeff | D | Jr | 58% | 33% |
UT | Hatch, Orrin | R | Sr | 58% | 37% |
VA | Warner, John | R | Sr | 58% | 32% |
CA | Feinstein, Dianne | D | Sr | 57% | 34% |
KS | Roberts, Pat | R | Jr | 57% | 35% |
WI | Kohl, Herb | D | Sr | 57% | 33% |
OR | Wyden, Ron | D | Sr | 56% | 35% |
AL | Sessions, Jeff | R | Jr | 55% | 34% |
CT | Dodd, Christopher | D | Sr | 55% | 38% |
IA | Harkin, Tom | D | Jr | 55% | 39% |
MT | Baucus, Max | D | Sr | 55% | 38% |
NE | Hagel, Chuck | R | Sr | 55% | 39% |
NH | Gregg, Judd | R | Sr | 55% | 35% |
SD | Thune, John | R | Jr | 55% | 41% |
UT | Bennett, Robert | R | Jr | 55% | 32% |
WI | Feingold, Russ | D | Jr | 55% | 40% |
AL | Shelby, Richard | R | Sr | 54% | 35% |
CT | Lieberman, Joseph | D | Jr | 54% | 41% |
IL | Durbin, Richard | D | Sr | 54% | 38% |
LA | Landrieu, Mary | D | Sr | 54% | 42% |
MO | Bond, Kit | R | Sr | 54% | 39% |
WA | Murray, Patty | D | Sr | 54% | 39% |
CA | Boxer, Barbara | D | Jr | 53% | 38% |
CO | Ken Salazar | D | Jr | 53% | 37% |
KY | McConnell, Mitch | R | Sr | 53% | 40% |
MA | Kerry, John | D | Jr | 53% | 44% |
MI | Levin, Carl | D | Sr | 53% | 37% |
MN | Coleman, Norm | R | Jr | 53% | 38% |
SC | Graham, Lindsey | R | Sr | 53% | 36% |
KS | Brownback, Sam | R | Sr | 52% | 40% |
NV | Ensign, John | R | Jr | 52% | 38% |
TN | Alexander, Lamar | R | Jr | 52% | 36% |
AK | Murkowski, Lisa | R | Jr | 51% | 44% |
AR | Lincoln, Blanche | D | Sr | 51% | 41% |
AR | Pryor, Mark | D | Jr | 51% | 39% |
HI | Akaka, Daniel | D | Jr | 51% | 43% |
OK | Coburn, Tom | R | Jr | 51% | 40% |
OR | Smith, Gordon | R | Jr | 51% | 40% |
SC | DeMint, Jim | R | Jr | 51% | 35% |
VA | Allen, George | R | Jr | 51% | 39% |
MI | Stabenow, Debbie | D | Jr | 50% | 39% |
OH | Voinovich, George | R | Jr | 50% | 40% |
PA | Specter, Arlen | R | Sr | 50% | 42% |
MO | Talent, Jim | R | Jr | 49% | 44% |
NV | Reid, Harry | D | Sr | 49% | 47% |
WA | Cantwell, Maria | D | Jr | 49% | 43% |
FL | Nelson, Bill | D | Sr | 48% | 33% |
GA | Isakson, Johnny | R | Jr | 48% | 34% |
RI | Chafee, Lincoln | R | Jr | 48% | 46% |
TN | Frist, Bill | R | Sr | 48% | 41% |
TX | Cornyn, John | R | Jr | 48% | 38% |
AZ | Kyl, Jon | R | Jr | 47% | 40% |
NH | Sununu, John | R | Jr | 47% | 43% |
GA | Chambliss, Saxby | R | Sr | 46% | 40% |
KY | Bunning, Jim | R | Jr | 46% | 43% |
MD | Sarbanes, Paul | D | Sr | 45% | 42% |
NJ | Lautenberg, Frank | D | Sr | 45% | 44% |
NJ | Menendez, Robert | D | Jr | 45% | 39% |
OH | DeWine, Mike | R | Sr | 45% | 45% |
OK | Inhofe, James | R | Sr | 45% | 45% |
NC | Burr, Richard | R | Jr | 44% | 40% |
PA | Santorum, Rick | R | Jr | 43% | 50% |
FL | Martinez, Mel | R | Jr | 42% | 42% |
MN | Dayton, Mark | D | Sr | 39% | 48% |
MT | Burns, Conrad | R | Jr | 37% | 57% |
CO | Allard, Wayne | R | Sr | 36% | 48% |
U.S. Average | 53% | 38% |
Source: SurveyUSA
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 600 adult residents of each of the country's 50 states, conducted from Jul. 14 to Jul. 16, 2006. Margins of error for each state range from 3.8 to 4.1 per cent.
