South Dakota's Thune, Rounds Among Most Popular U.S. Senators

As a group, the 100 women and men that currently hold down the title of United States Senator are not held in very high regard across the country.

According to a recent Gallup poll, a stunning 75%-80% of Americans disapprove of the way Congress has handled its job so far in 2022.

Ranked individually though, the numbers tell a very different story and bode very well for South Dakota's two senators.

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24/7 Wall St., using the latest polling data from Morning Consult, found that Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds from the Mount Rushmore State have approval ratings among the highest on Capitol Hill - with Thune leading the way and Rounds fourth.

Senator Thune (62% approval rate) and Senator Rounds (61% approval rate) are among only five senators who are looked favorably upon by 60 percent or more of those surveyed.

MOST POPULAR U.S. SENATORS (Approval/Disapproval)

John Thune (R-South Dakota) - 62%/28%
John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) - 62%/31%
Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) - 62%/34%
Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) - 61%/28%
Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) - 60%/32%
Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) - 59%/32%
John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) - 58%/29%
Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) - 57%/35%
Angus King (I-Maine) - 56%/35%
Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) - 55%/28%

The popularity of both Senators Thune and Rounds is on the way up.

Thune saw an 11-point bump from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022. That increase is second only to Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia (+16%). Rounds' popularity is up 7 points, which is fifth-best.

The popularity polls are both the good news and the bad news for Republicans.

While the GOP has four of the five most popular senators, it also has eight of the top nine least popular senators in Washington DC.

LEAST POPULAR U.S. SENATORS (Disapproval/Approval)

Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) - 60%/33%
Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) - 51%/37%
Susan Collins (R-Maine) - 49%/47%
Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) - 45%/45%
Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) - 44%-46%
Mitt Romney (R-Utah) - 43%/48%
Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) - 43%/36%
Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) - 43%/47%
Ted Cruz (R-Texas) - 42%/48%
Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) - 42%/43%

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