Photo by yospyn

Talk about a double whammy.

Yesterday’s news was that a poll by the Washington Post had found that a majority of D.C. residents no longer trusted Mayor Vince Gray and wanted him to resign. In today’s second installment of the poll, the Post reports that former Mayor Adrian Fenty’s approval rating stands at 59 percent (up from 42 percent in January 2010) and that if the 2010 Democratic primary were redone today, Fenty would win by a 2-to-1 margin.

But given that Fenty has indicated that he has no interest in elected office again in D.C., the poll also tests a few possible mayoral contenders, including councilmembers Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6).

Of the three, Evans leads the pack with a 35 percent favorable rating, followed by Wells at 27 percent and Bowser at 23 percent. In all three cases, though, over half those polled had no opinion on them, showing that all three would have to barnstorm across the city to make themselves known to the electorate. (So far, only Wells has said he wants to run for mayor.) But how about U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ron Machen, who has been floated as a distant contender for the city’s top office? He’d have even more of a struggle—over 80 percent of those polled had no opinion on him.

In other tidbits from the poll, newly minted D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson is liked by 34 percent of respondents, though he also unknown to most people. Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large) is liked by 32 percent of respondents and also unknown to many, while Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) continues to provoke divided opinions: 52 percent of respondents had a favorable view of him, while 40 percent didn’t seem to think too highly of Ward 8’s commander-in-chief. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton topped the rankings, taking in a 72 percent favorability rating.

After yesterday’s poll results were published, the City Paper asked Gray if the results stung at all. “Of course it does,” he said.