Mitch McConnell

===Approval ratings===
As the leader of the Senate Republicans, McConnell has been at the receiving end of much of the criticism and disapproval that Republicans receive from Democratic voters, receiving near uniform disapproval from left-of-center voters. Furthermore, as a result of his unpopularity with Trump and the more populist base, McConnell has had historically low approval for a senator when looking at the electorate as a whole, as a 2012 poll and a 2016 poll each found that McConnell had the lowest home-state approval rating of any sitting senator.<ref name=Smart>{{cite web|magazine=Smart Politics|author=Ostermeier, Dr. Eric|title=Which States Give Their US Senators the Lowest Marks?|url=http://editions.lib.umn.edu/smartpolitics/2015/11/29/which-states-give-their-us-senators-the-lowest-marks/|date=November 29, 2015|accessdate=November 17, 2016|archive-date=November 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118041551/http://editions.lib.umn.edu/smartpolitics/2015/11/29/which-states-give-their-us-senators-the-lowest-marks/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|author=Cirilli, Kevin|date=December 12, 2012|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/poll-the-most-unpopular-senator-084927|title=Poll: The most unpopular senator|magazine=[[Politico]]|accessdate=February 12, 2017|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225061939/https://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/poll-the-most-unpopular-senator-084927|url-status=live}}</ref> With a 49% disapproval rate in 2017, McConnell had the highest disapproval rating of all senators.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://members-of-congress.insidegov.com/stories/14197/least-popular-senators#25-Sen-Mitch-McConnell-R-Ky|title=The Least Popular U.S. Senators|publisher=InsideGov (Graphiq)|accessdate=June 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706181742/https://graphiq-stories.graphiq.com/stories/14197/least-popular-senators#25-Sen-Mitch-McConnell-R-Ky|archive-date=July 6, 2017|website=insidegov.com}}</ref>

In September 2019, the [[Morning Consult]] found that his approval rating had been underwater since the first quarter of 2017, when it was 44% positive and 47% negative. The worst rating since that time was in the fourth quarter of 2018, when he had a 38% positive rating and a 47% negative rating among Kentuckians.<ref name=Morning /> At that time he was briefly not the least popular Senator, and was surpassed by Senators [[Claire McCaskill]] and [[Jeff Flake]].<ref>{{cite news|title=America's Most and Least Popular Senators: McConnell loses spot as least popular senator|date=January 10, 2019|author=Yokley, Eli|publisher=Morning Consult|url=https://morningconsult.com/2019/01/10/americas-most-and-least-popular-senators-q4-2018/|accessdate=September 2, 2019|website=morningconsult.com|archive-date=April 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414082922/https://morningconsult.com/2019/01/10/americas-most-and-least-popular-senators-q4-2018/|url-status=live}}</ref> As of the second quarter of 2019, however, McConnell's ratings were 36% positive and 50% negative. He netted −56 among Democrats, +29 among Republicans, and −24 among Independents.<ref name=Morning>{{cite web|url=https://morningconsult.com/senator-rankings-q2-19-2/|title=Morning Consult's Senator Approval Rankings: Q2 2019, Senator Lookup|publisher=Morning Consult|year=2019|accessdate=September 2, 2019|website=morningconsult.com|archive-date=October 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014003848/https://morningconsult.com/senator-rankings-q2-19-2/|url-status=live}}</ref> An average of polls by the Economist/YouGov, Politico/Morning Consult, and Harvard-Harris from the end of July through August 2019 (7/31–8/27), was 23% favorable and 48% unfavorable (−25.0 spread).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/mitch_mcconnell_favorableunfavorable-6672.html|title=Mitch McConnell: Favorable/Unfavorable|publisher=Real Clear Politics (RealClearHoldings, LLC.)|accessdate=September 2, 2019|website=realclearpolitics.com|archive-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507194649/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/mitch_mcconnell_favorableunfavorable-6672.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, according to [[Morning Consult]], [[Susan Collins]] edged out McConnell as the most unpopular senator with a 52% unfavorable rating from Maine voters compared to 50% unfavorable for McConnell.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/16/susan-collins-approval-rating/4495142002/|title=Susan Collins surpasses Mitch McConnell as the most unpopular senator in a new poll|author=Behrmann, Savannah|date=January 17, 2020|accessdate=January 17, 2020|publisher=[[USA Today]] (Gannett)|archive-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507194648/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/16/susan-collins-approval-rating/4495142002/|url-status=live}}</ref>