Earl Benjamin "Ben" Nelson is the junior U.S. Senator from Nebraska, where he was born and has lived for most of his life. Nelson is a Methodist. A Democrat, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, and is now the leading conservative Democrat in the Senate. An April 2006 poll by Survey USA found him to be the Senator with the highest popularity rating, 73%, among his own constituents. In their most recent poll, his approval rating was 68%.