New poll shows Bernie Sanders is most popular active politician in US

Former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is currently the most popular active politician in the US, according to a new poll.

Voters chose the Vermont senator as their most preferred politician in a poll from Harvard-Harris for The Hill, which found 57% of people surveyed viewed Sanders favourably and just 32% viewed him unfavourably.

Indeed, Sanders stands alone in a list of 16 of Trump's administration and congressional leaders as the only political figure who has a higher approval than disapproval rating.

The popularity of Sanders comes in sharp comparison with President Donald Trump's approval rating, which has dipped since his inauguration, with a poll from Public Policy Polling putting the Republican's approval rating at just 40%, while 53% disapprove of him.

Meanwhile, the Harvard-Harris poll also found Trump's controversial pick for White House chief strategist, Steve Bannon – formerly of Breitbart – is the least popular person in the poll, with just 16% seeing him in a favourable light while 45% of people disapprove of him.

Harvard-Harris co-director Mark Penn told the website, which commissioned the survey: "In losing to Hillary, Bernie Sanders has floated above today's partisan politics while Bannon has, rightly or wrongly, taken the blame for the administration's failures.

"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."

Sanders' popularity once again raises the question of a potential presidential run in 2020 with his popularity rating and profile currently outshining that of other Democrats.