How Popular Is Your Senator?

Survey USA's polls have been making a big splash, and their latest survey of approval ratings for U.S. Senators (released late yesterday) is no exception. Click here to find the most useful sorting of the results -- the ranking of Senators by their "net approval" rating (percent who approve minus percent who disapprove). This chart helps you find your Senator by state.

Some of the Southern highlights:

* The two Southern Senators with the highest net approval are West Virginia's Democratic duo of Jay Rockefeller (67% approve, 25% disapprove, 42% net approval) and Robert Byrd (65/29/36). That makes Rockefeller the 11th highest-ranked Senator in the country, and Byrd ranks 21st.

* The highest-rated Southern Republican is Alabama's Richard Shelby (60/29/31), who ranks 30th nationally in net approval.

* Southerners ranking in the bottom 25 are Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA), tied at 76th; Jim Bunning (R-KY), 79th; Bill Frist (R-TN), 87th; John Cornyn (R-TX), 90th; and Mel Martinez (R-FL), who ranks 97th and is one of four Senators nationally with a net negative approval rating.

Not a great showing from the Southern delegation, especially Senate Majority Leader Frist.