It has become accepted as fact and repeated in local and national stories that Sen. Scott Brown is “the most popular officeholder in Massachusetts” since his stunning victory over Attorney General Martha Coakley in last year’s special election.

But several new polls, including one by the MassINC Polling Group, indicate that popularity might be waning a bit and Brown is being eclipsed by previously reviled incumbents who have shown a penchant for comebacks.

Whatever measure you look at, Brown is no longer alone on the top of the heap. When The Boston Globe dubbed Brown “the most popular” a year ago, his favorability ratings turned a number of state Democrats blue with envy.

The Globe poll taken in mid-June last year showed 55 percent of those polled had a favorable opinion of Brown while just 18 percent viewed him unfavorably. Sen. John Kerry had a 52-37 favorable/unfavorable opinion while President Obama was viewed favorably by 54 percent, though 41 percent viewed him unfavorably. Several other polls showed similar trends with the new junior senator getting high grades in favorability and job approval.

One year later, there’s a little fade on Brown’s patina. A MassINC Polling Group survey earlier last month found Brown in fourth behind Joe Kennedy, Kerry, and Gov. Deval Patrick. A poll done by Suffolk University last month shows Brown in a tie with Kennedy at 58 percent, one point ahead of Obama, and six points ahead of Patrick. Hillary Clinton led all politicians among Massachusetts voters with a whopping 74 percent viewing her favorably and just 19 percent viewing her unfavorably.

Measuring by job approval ratings also shows that Brown has some catching up to do to regain the “most popular” mantle. According to Public Policy Polling in North Carolina, 55 percent approved of the job Kerry is doing while 54 percent approved of the job Patrick is doing, both improvements over last year. Just 48 percent approved of the job Brown is doing, according to the survey.

One poll shows Brown more popular than ever. In late March, the political website Salon detailed an internal Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee poll that showed an astounding 73 percent of Massachusetts voters had a favorable opinion of Brown, numbers that exceeded any previous or subsequent poll by a wide margin.

While Brown has done little to show he is unable to win reelection, the numbers do reveal some cracks in the armor.