(Angus Reid Global Scan) – North Dakota Republican John Hoeven has the highest approval numbers of any governor in the United States, according to a 50-state poll conducted by SurveyUSA. 76 per cent of respondents in the Peace Garden State are satisfied with his performance.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – North Dakota Republican John Hoeven has the highest approval numbers of any governor in the United States, according to a 50-state poll conducted by SurveyUSA. 76 per cent of respondents in the Peace Garden State are satisfied with his performance.
Connecticut Republican Jodi Rell and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin are next on the list with 75 per cent, followed by Republican Jon Huntsman of Utah with 72 per cent, Nebraska Republican Dave Heineman and Wyoming Democrat Dave Freudenthal with 68 per cent, and Montana Democrat Brian Schweitzer and Oklahoma Democrat Brad Henry with 66 per cent.
The average approval rating for U.S. governors is 47 per cent, down six points since February. The lowest-ranked politicians are Louisiana Democrat Kathleen Blanco with 34 per cent, Kentucky Republican Ernie Fletcher with 33 per cent, Alaska Republican Frank Murkowski with 29 per cent, and Ohio Republican Bob Taft with 17 per cent.
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of your governor’s performance?
State | Name | Party | Approve | Disapprove |
North Dakota | Hoeven, John | R | 76% | 17% |
Connecticut | Rell, Jodi | R | 75% | 19% |
West Virginia | Manchin, Joe | D | 75% | 20% |
Utah | Huntsman, Jon | R | 72% | 21% |
Nebraska | Heineman, Dave | R | 68% | 23% |
Wyoming | Freudenthal, Dave | D | 68% | 24% |
Montana | Schweitzer, Brian | D | 66% | 24% |
Oklahoma | Henry, Brad | D | 66% | 27% |
New Hampshire | Lynch, John | D | 64% | 26% |
Idaho | Kempthorne, Dirk | R | 62% | 33% |
Kansas | Sebelius, Kathleen | D | 60% | 34% |
Vermont | Douglas, Jim | R | 60% | 33% |
Hawaii | Lingle, Linda | R | 59% | 31% |
Iowa | Vilsack, Tom | D | 59% | 36% |
New Mexico | Richardson, Bill | D | 59% | 36% |
Arizona | Napolitano, Janet | D | 58% | 36% |
South Dakota | Rounds, Mike | R | 58% | 38% |
Arkansas | Huckabee, Mike | R | 57% | 38% |
Florida | Bush, Jeb | R | 57% | 40% |
Nevada | Guinn, Kenny | R | 56% | 34% |
Tennessee | Bredesen, Phil | D | 56% | 38% |
Colorado | Owens, Bill | R | 55% | 38% |
Minnesota | Pawlenty, Tim | R | 55% | 41% |
North Carolina | Easley, Michael | D | 55% | 36% |
Alabama | Riley, Bob | R | 54% | 41% |
Mississippi | Barbour, Haley | R | 54% | 44% |
Virginia | Kaine, Tim | D | 53% | 33% |
Georgia | Perdue, Sonny | R | 52% | 40% |
South Carolina | Sanford, Mark | R | 52% | 40% |
New Jersey | Corzine, Jon | D | 51% | 36% |
Rhode Island | Carcieri, Don | R | 51% | 45% |
Pennsylvania | Rendell, Edward | D | 49% | 46% |
Maryland | Ehrlich, Robert | R | 48% | 44% |
Texas | Perry, Rick | R | 48% | 47% |
Washington | Gregoire, Christine | D | 47% | 46% |
Michigan | Granholm, Jennifer | D | 45% | 52% |
New York | Pataki, George | R | 45% | 49% |
Illinois | Blagojevich, Rod | D | 44% | 52% |
Wisconsin | Doyle, Jim | D | 44% | 48% |
Massachusetts | Romney, Mitt | R | 42% | 52% |
Delaware | Minner, Ruth | D | 41% | 52% |
Indiana | Daniels, Mitch | R | 40% | 54% |
Maine | Baldacci, John | D | 39% | 55% |
Missouri | Blunt, Matt | R | 37% | 56% |
California | Schwarzenegger, Arnold | R | 36% | 61% |
Oregon | Kulongoski, Ted | D | 36% | 56% |
Louisiana | Blanco, Kathleen | D | 34% | 63% |
Kentucky | Fletcher, Ernie | R | 33% | 61% |
Alaska | Murkowski, Frank | R | 29% | 65% |
Ohio | Taft, Bob | R | 17% | 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 Mar. 10 to Mar. 12, 2006. Margins of error for each state range from 3.8 to 4.1 per cent.
