Approval ratings for congressional leaders on the debt-ceiling debate are all low. Poll: Dems up, GOP down

The debt ceiling debate hurt Americans’ view of Republicans, bolstered their opinion of Democrats, and drove the tea party’s favorable ratings to a new low, a poll on Tuesday found.

Just 33 percent of Americans approve of the Republican Party, while 59 percent disapprove in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday. That’s a net negative 10-percentage-point shift from less than a month ago, when 41 percent of those surveyed by CNN said they had a favorable view of the GOP while 55 percent had an unfavorable one.


At the same time, Democrats’ numbers have improved slightly, with approval and disapproval each at 47 percent. In July, 45 percent approved and 49 percent disapproved, a net 4-point positive change.

The tea party movement fares slightly worse than the GOP and has its most dismal ratings since CNN began asking about the movement in polls in January 2010. Thirty-one percent said they see it favorably while 51 percent see it unfavorably. In July, those numbers were 37 percent and 47 percent, respectively.

Of those surveyed, just 41 percent say they think the House member in their district should be reelected — the lowest ever — while 49 percent said the member does not deserve another term. A year ago, 52 percent supported reelection of their representatives while 42 percent opposed it.

Meanwhile, ratings for leaders in Congress are mixed, but all are low. Republican House Speaker John Boehner’s favorable rating in the poll is 33 percent, while his unfavorable rating is 40 percent. An additional 27 percent say they’ve never heard of him or have no opinion. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi does worse, with 31 percent of those surveyed saying they see her favorably while 51 percent see her unfavorably.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, gets the approval of 28 percent of those surveyed, while 39 percent disapprove and 33 percent say they have never heard of him or have no opinion. For Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the numbers are a bit worse, with 21 percent favorability, 39 percent unfavorability and 40 percent say they haven’t heard of him or have no opinion.

The poll was conducted Aug. 5-7 and surveyed 1,008 adults. The error margin is plus or minus 3 percentage points.