(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Utah Republican Jon Huntsman has the highest approval rating of any governor in the United States, according to a 50-state poll conducted by SurveyUSA. 76 per cent of respondents in the Beehive State are satisfied with his performance.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Utah Republican Jon Huntsman has the highest approval rating of any governor in the United States, according to a 50-state poll conducted by SurveyUSA. 76 per cent of respondents in the Beehive State are satisfied with his performance.
West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin is next on the list with 75 per cent, followed by Connecticut Republican Jodi Rell, Montana Democrat Brian Schweitzer and North Dakota Republican John Hoeven all with 74 per cent, Wyoming Democrat Dave Freudenthal with 68 per cent, Oklahoma Democrat Brad Henry with 67 per cent, and Nebraska Republican Dane Heineman and New Hampshire Democrat John Lynch with 66 per cent each.
The average approval rating for U.S. governors is 47 per cent. The lowest-ranked politicians are California Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger and Indiana Republican Mitch Daniels with 35 per cent, Oregon Democrat Ted Kulongoski with 33 per cent, Alaska Republican Frank Murkowski with 29 per cent, and Ohio Republican Bob Taft with 18 per cent.
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of your governor’s performance?
State | Name | Party | Approve | Disapprove |
Utah | Huntsman, Jon | R | 76% | 16% |
West Virginia | Manchin, Joe | D | 75% | 18% |
Connecticut | Rell, Jodi | R | 74% | 20% |
Montana | Schweitzer, Brian | D | 74% | 18% |
North Dakota | Hoeven, John | R | 74% | 19% |
Wyoming | Freudenthal, Dave | D | 68% | 24% |
Oklahoma | Henry, Brad | D | 67% | 26% |
Nebraska | Heineman, Dave | R | 66% | 25% |
New Hampshire | Lynch, John | D | 66% | 24% |
Nevada | Guinn, Kenny | R | 62% | 31% |
Vermont | Douglas, Jim | R | 62% | 31% |
Arizona | Napolitano, Janet | D | 61% | 35% |
South Dakota | Rounds, Mike | R | 60% | 36% |
Georgia | Perdue, Sonny | R | 59% | 34% |
Hawaii | Lingle, Linda | R | 59% | 31% |
Kansas | Sebelius, Kathleen | D | 59% | 35% |
New Mexico | Richardson, Bill | D | 59% | 36% |
Arkansas | Huckabee, Mike | R | 58% | 37% |
Idaho | Kempthorne, Dirk | R | 58% | 34% |
Tennessee | Bredesen, Phil | D | 56% | 38% |
Florida | Bush, Jeb | R | 55% | 41% |
Iowa | Vilsack, Tom | D | 55% | 39% |
Virginia | Kaine, Tim | D | 55% | 33% |
Mississippi | Barbour, Haley | R | 54% | 41% |
Alabama | Riley, Bob | R | 52% | 43% |
Minnesota | Pawlenty, Tim | R | 52% | 42% |
Pennsylvania | Rendell, Edward | D | 52% | 42% |
Wisconsin | Doyle, Jim | D | 52% | 40% |
South Carolina | Sanford, Mark | R | 51% | 43% |
Colorado | Owens, Bill | R | 50% | 45% |
North Carolina | Easley, Michael | D | 50% | 41% |
Rhode Island | Carcieri, Don | R | 50% | 42% |
Maryland | Ehrlich, Robert | R | 48% | 45% |
Massachusetts | Romney, Mitt | R | 48% | 46% |
Washington | Gregoire, Christine | D | 48% | 44% |
Illinois | Blagojevich, Rod | D | 47% | 49% |
Texas | Perry, Rick | R | 47% | 45% |
New York | Pataki, George | R | 46% | 48% |
Delaware | Minner, Ruth | D | 43% | 50% |
Michigan | Granholm, Jennifer | D | 40% | 57% |
Maine | Baldacci, John | D | 39% | 56% |
Kentucky | Fletcher, Ernie | R | 38% | 57% |
Missouri | Blunt, Matt | R | 37% | 59% |
Louisiana | Blanco, Kathleen | D | 36% | 62% |
New Jersey | Corzine, Jon | D | 36% | 56% |
California | Schwarzenegger, Arnold | R | 35% | 61% |
Indiana | Daniels, Mitch | R | 35% | 61% |
Oregon | Kulongoski, Ted | D | 33% | 57% |
Alaska | Murkowski, Frank | R | 29% | 64% |
Ohio | Taft, Bob | R | 18% | 77% |
U.S. Average | 47% | 47% |
Source: SurveyUSA
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 600 adult residents of each of the country’s 50 states, conducted from Apr. 4 to Apr. 7, 2006. Margins of error for each state range from 3.8 to 4.1 per cent.
