A new poll released on Friday shows that a majority of Kentuckians disapprove of their state’s senior senator, the GOP leader Mitch McConnell.
A survey conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy found that 53 percent of Kentuckians disapproved of McConnell’s performance as one of Kentucky’s senators, compared to 41 percent who approve. Six percent were unsure.
The poll comes months after McConnell won another term in the Senate. He coasted to victory in November over Democrat Amy McGrath, earning 58 percent of the vote to McGrath’s 38 percent.
McConnell suffered from poor approval ratings ahead of his reelection bid, giving Democrats hope of winning the race. But as with past cycles, the Democratic hopes ended with disappointment.
McConnell has faced challenges since November with division in his party. He surprised many observers in January after a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol by signaling it was possible he could vote to convict former President Trump in an impeachment panel.
The GOP leader has since voted against the constitutionality of an impeachment trial against a former president and is widely expected to vote against impeachment.
Still, it seems possible the divisions over Trump are a reason for McConnell’s lower ratings in his home state.
Among Kentucky Republicans, 62 percent approved of McConnell while 29 percent disapproved. Seventy-three percent of Democrats disapproved of McConnell and 23 percent approved.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has been outspoken in opposing Trump’s impeachment and the Senate trial, has a higher approval rating in the poll than McConnell.
The poll found that 53 percent of Kentuckians approve of Paul, compared to 44 percent who disapprove.
Paul received an 82 percent approval rating from GOP respondents to the survey, 20 percent higher than that of McConnell’s approval from his party. Only 16 percent of Kentucky Republicans disapproved of Paul. Seventy-three percent of Democrats disapproved of Paul and 24 percent approved.
The poll was conducted from Feb. 1 to 4 and surveyed 625 registered Kentucky voters by telephone. The margin or error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.