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Bernie Sanders is most popular active politician in U.S.: poll

Xinhua, April 19, 2017 Adjust font size:

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is the United States' most popular active politician, viewed favorably by 57 percent of registered voters, according to a new poll.

Sanders is particularly popular aged 18 to 34, who gave him a 62 percent 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 that is viewed favorably by a majority of voters.

In contrast, only 16 percent think favorably of White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, while 45 percent of voters have a negative view of him, according to the survey data obtained by theHill news group 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 percent positive and 53 percent negative, down from a 44-51 split in a Harvard-Harris poll in February.

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

On the Republican side, President Donald Trump's favorability rating is at 44 percent positive and 51 negative. House Speaker Paul Ryan is viewed favorably by 34 percent of voters and unfavorably by 47 percent. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fares worse, at 23 percent positive and 42 percent negative.

FBI Director James Comey is also deep in negative territory in the poll, at 18 percent positive and 36 percent 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 Center for American Political Studies and The Harris Poll. Endi