Politics

Pelosi most recognized, least liked congressional leader

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Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California is the best known of the four House and Senate leaders, but she is also the least liked, according to a new Gallup poll released Wednesday.

While Pelosi is the least liked, the rest of the leadership — Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Ohio Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky —- also fared poorly when it comes to their popularity.

According to Gallup, 31 percent of Americans view Pelosi favorably, compared to 48 percent who see her unfavorably — a net -17 favorability rating. Pelosi’s rating fared worse than Reid’s -11 (27 percent favorable to 38 percent unfavorable), Boehner’s -10 (31 percent favorable to 41 percent unfavorable), and McConnell’s -8 (26 percent favorable to 34 percent unfavorable).

Pelosi was also the most well known — with 79 percent of Americans polled knowing enough about her to offer a favorable or unfavorable views. Twenty-one percent did not, because they did not have an opinion or did not know who she was. Boehner’s recognition rate was 72 percent, Reid’s was 65 percent and McConnell’s was 60 percent.

The poll, which was conducted from April 11-14, of 1,012 adults in America, also found that Pelosi was the most polarizing figure, getting the highest percentage of favorable sentiment from members of her own party and the highest percentage of unfavorable views from Republicans.

The sampling error was +/- 4 percentage points.

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