Typically, Congressional leaders are little known to voters nationwide. But, that’s not the case with Nancy Pelosi. Americans think they have a much clearer handle on her views than on those of the man she is replacing as Speaker, Dennis Hastert (R). Views on Pelosi are also much firmer than those for Senate leaders Harry Reid (D) and Bill Frist (R) (see crosstabs).

Pelosi, slated to become the nation’s first woman Speaker of the House, is viewed as politically liberal by 52% of Americans and moderate by 22%. Just 5% consider her conservative and 20% are not sure. During the campaign season Republicans often warned of the danger of a Pelosi-led liberal-Democratic ascendancy. Sixty-five percent (65%) of Republicans view her as liberal.

Men are more likely than women to offer an opinion about the ideology of all leaders. However, that gap is much smaller when it comes to Pelosi. Fifteen percent (15%) of men had no opinion about Pelosi’s ideology. Twenty-five percent (25%) of women were in that category as well.

Outgoing Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert is viewed as politically conservative by 32%, moderate by 19%. But 40% are not sure where he stands, double the number who drew a blank when asked about Pelosi.

Despite the discrepancy on ideological perceptions, a telephone survey Rasmussen Reports conducted just before the election found that Hastert and Pelosi are both viewed favorably by 24%, unfavorably by a bit more than 40%. Hastert had been in the public eye in recent weeks not because of any ideological controversy but because of the Mark Foley scandal. Rasmussen Reports also provides ongoing reports on favorability ratings for Democratic Presidential hopefuls, Republican Presidential contenders, Congressional Leaders and other Political Leaders.

We will be tracking ideological perceptions of Congressional Leaders on an ongoing basis.

Senator Harry Reid, (see Reid’s favorables), currently the Senate Minority Leader, is slated to become Majority Leader next year. He is pro-life and has voted for congressional bans on partial-birth abortions, but as a Democratic partisan has often clashed with the Bush Administration. Only 6% see him as conservative. Twenty-five percent (25%) say he's moderate, 24% say he's liberal. Forty-five percent (45%) don’t know enough to give an answer.

Senator Bill Frist, the outgoing Senate Majority Leader, is viewed as conservative by 37%, moderate by 21%. Thirty-six percent (36%) are unsure how to label his perspective. Frist is leaving the Senate to honor a term limits pledge made in 1994. After we conducted our survey Senator Frist announced that he would not be running for President (see Frist’s favorables).

Many more voters are certain how to categorize George W. Bush: 63% say he's conservative, 18% say moderate, only 10% are "not sure."

Crosstabs available for Premium Members only.