Here Are the Politicians Americans Actually Like

A new poll has revealed that Americans’ favorite politicians are also the ones that conservatives bellyache about the most. A Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll published Monday asked Americans to rate a dozen contemporary political figures on a scale of zero through 100, with the bottom of the scale representing “coldness” and the top of the scale representing “warmth.” The winners, by and large, were Democrats. Leading the popularity contest was former President Barack Obama, with an average rating of 54 on the reputation thermometer. Behind the 44th president was Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Party at large, and Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in that order. Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also polled high, earning a 42 and 41 rating, respectively. Two Democrats fell towards the bottom of the poll: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who received a 36 rating, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who came in last in his party with a 30 rating. Republicans generally fared much worse than Democrats. Among them, State Secretary Marco Rubio came in first with a 41 rating. Behind him was Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump, who each received an average rating of 38. Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and ex-Fox News star Tucker Carlson fared even worse than the team in the White House, and scored less than 36 across the board. > Per our new polling out today, the most popular politicians in America are… > > Barack Obama > Bernie Sanders > Zohran Mamdani > Pete Buttigieg > Jon Ossoff > & Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez > > Trump is tied with Elon Musk and Hakeem Jeffries, Schumer and Carlson in lasthttps://t.co/vGWqUvS0Pk pic.twitter.com/9Zmb1SHxki > > — G Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris) June 29, 2026 The poll follows a pivotal moment for the burgeoning Democratic Socialists of America, which saw two of its New York-area candidates win big in primaries across the state last week: Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez. Both of them, as well as Mamdani-endorsed Brad Lander, beat out candidates endorsed by Democratic leaders such as Jeffries and Schumer. Their success underscores a new chapter in left-wing politics in the U.S., and illustrates that candidates tied to Democratic leadership have lost their sway with traditionally Democrat voters.