Bernie Sanders most popular politician in US: poll

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is the US' most popular active politician, viewed favourably by 57 per cent of registered voters, according to a new poll.

Sanders is particularly popular among people aged between 18 to 34, who gave him a 62 per cent approval rating. He also has majority support among those over the age of 50, according to the latest Harvard-Harris survey.

Moreover, he is the only person among 16 Trump administration officials or congressional leaders included in the survey who is viewed favourably by a majority of voters, Xinhua news agency reported.

In contrast, only 16 per cent think favourably of White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, while 45 per cent of voters have a negative view of him, according to the survey data obtained by theHill magazine exclusively on Tuesday.

"In losing to Hillary (Clinton), Bernie Sanders has floated above today's partisan politics while Bannon has, rightly or wrongly, taken the blame for the administration's failures," said Harvard-Harris Co-Director Mark Penn.

"It is symptomatic of the Democrats increasingly consolidating to the left while the Republicans are fractured and unable to come together. Sanders is an asset to the Democrats while Bannon is a liability to the administration," Penn said.

Clinton is at 42 per cent positive and 53 per cent negative, down from a 44-51 split in a Harvard-Harris poll in February.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is viewed favourably by 31 per cent of registered voters and unfavourably by 48 per cent, while Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer is at 27 per cent positive and 35 per cent negative, the poll finds.

On the Republican side, President Donald Trump's favourability rating is at 44 per cent positive and 51 negative. House Speaker Paul Ryan is viewed favourably by 34 per cent of voters and unfavourably by 47 percent.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fares worse, at 23 per cent positive and 42 per cent negative.

FBI Director James Comey is also deep in negative territory in the poll, at 18 per cent positive and 36 per cent negative.

The online survey of 2,027 registered voters was conducted between Friday and Monday based on a methodology that doesn't produce a traditional margin of error.

The Harvard-Harris survey is a collaboration of the Harvard Centre for American Political Studies and The Harris Poll.

--IANS

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