Your assumption is correct. I am using python 3.
By adding the code that you suggested the output looks the same as the arduino serial monitor.
Thanks again for all your help.
I am posting my final python code below:
import serial
serialport = "com3"
ser = serial.Serial(serialport, 9600)
while(1):
val=ser.readline().decode( 'ascii' ).strip()
print (val)