McConnell favorability surges 12 points among Republicans since late February: poll

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) favorability is up 12 points among Republicans since late February, a Politico-Morning Consult poll showed.

McConnell’s rating was up to 42 percent among Republicans in the recent poll, a significant increase from the 30 percent approval he received in the same poll in late February.

McConnell’s favorability took a hit in February after he criticized former President Trump after the Capitol riot.

Trump responded to the criticism and released a statement attacking McConnell and his leadership in the Senate.

“McConnell’s dedication to business as usual, status quo policies, together with his lack of political insight, wisdom, skill, and personality, has rapidly driven him from Majority Leader to Minority Leader, and it will only get worse,” Trump wrote.

In the February poll, only 21 percent of Republican voters said they had heard about Trump’s criticisms of McConnell.

Since that time, Trump has issued a number of other statements calling for McConnell to be ousted from Senate leadership.

According to the Morning Consult poll, 43 percent of Republicans have never heard Trump say McConnell should be replaced in Senate leadership.

Trump has kept up with his attacks on the Senate minority leader, saying on Wednesday that McConnell is “gutless and clueless.”

McConnell has largely tried to stay out of Trump’s path and sidestepped a question on Wednesday about the controversy between Trump and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who is facing her own political attacks after pushing back on the former president’s claims that the 2020 election was rigged.

The poll surveyed 1,991 registered voters between April 30 and May 3. The margin of error is two percentage points.