House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) now ranks as the least popular member of top congressional leadership, according to polling released Friday by Rasmussen Reports.
Fifty-one percent of likely voters rated Boehner unfavorably, giving him a net favorability rating of negative 20 and the dubious honor of replacing Nancy Pelosi as the most disliked member of congressional leadership, a position she held for several years in Rasmussen's polls.
Boehner has taken what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called "a political battering" over his role in the fiscal cliff negotiations, but says he's not concerned he'll lose his speakership.
The poll's results are the worst for Boehner since he took that job, with his unfavorables up 7 points from November, and only 55 percent of Republicans giving him good marks. Pelosi was not far ahead, getting unfavorable reviews from half of voters, while Reid had a 42 percent unfavorable rating.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had a lower unfavorable rating, at 36 percent -- perhaps good news after a poll from a Democratic firm found him to be deeply unpopular among voters in his home state.
Vice President Joe Biden, who serves as president of the Senate, was the only lawmaker polled to get a net positive rating -- 49 percent viewed him favorably, and 45 percent regarded him unfavorably.
Rasmussen's results are roughly in line with other polling. Surveys taken since the election by Pew and CNN/ORC gave Boehner 28 percent and 36 percent favorability ratings, respectively. Pelosi received a 31 percent rating in an August CNN/ORC poll.
The Rasmussen poll surveyed 900 likely voters by automated phone between Dec. 18 and Dec. 19, with a 3 percent margin of error.
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