- North Dakota Republican John Hoeven remains the most popular governor in the United States, according to a 50-state poll conducted by SurveyUSA. 78 per cent of respondents in the Peace Garden State approve of Hoeven’s performance.
- North Dakota Republican John Hoeven remains the most popular governor in the United States, according to a 50-state poll conducted by SurveyUSA. 78 per cent of respondents in the Peace Garden State approve of Hoeven’s performance.
Montana Democrat Brian Schweitzer and Utah Republican Jon Huntsman are next on the list with 76 per cent each, followed by New Hampshire Democrat John Lynch and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin with 72 per cent each, Connecticut Republican Jodi Rell and with 70 per cent, and Oklahoma Democrat Brad Henry with 69 per cent.
The average approval rating for U.S. governors is 49 per cent. The lowest-ranked politicians are Kentucky Republican Ernie Fletcher with 24 per cent, Alaska Republican Frank Murkowski with 19 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 | 78% | 16% |
Montana | Schweitzer, Brian | D | 76% | 18% |
Utah | Huntsman, Jon | R | 76% | 18% |
New Hampshire | Lynch, John | D | 72% | 20% |
West Virginia | Manchin, Joe | D | 72% | 24% |
Connecticut | Rell, Jodi | R | 70% | 25% |
Oklahoma | Henry, Brad | D | 69% | 25% |
Hawaii | Lingle, Linda | R | 66% | 28% |
Wyoming | Freudenthal, Dave | D | 66% | 27% |
Nebraska | Heineman, Dave | R | 65% | 30% |
New Mexico | Richardson, Bill | D | 65% | 32% |
Georgia | Perdue, Sonny | R | 63% | 33% |
Kansas | Sebelius, Kathleen | D | 63% | 32% |
Alabama | Riley, Bob | R | 62% | 35% |
South Dakota | Rounds, Mike | R | 62% | 35% |
Vermont | Douglas, Jim | R | 60% | 34% |
Arizona | Napolitano, Janet | D | 59% | 38% |
Virginia | Kaine, Tim | D | 59% | 33% |
Pennsylvania | Rendell, Edward | D | 58% | 38% |
Arkansas | Huckabee, Mike | R | 57% | 39% |
Tennessee | Bredesen, Phil | D | 57% | 37% |
Minnesota | Pawlenty, Tim | R | 56% | 42% |
North Carolina | Easley, Michael | D | 56% | 38% |
Florida | Bush, Jeb | R | 54% | 44% |
Colorado | Owens, Bill | R | 53% | 41% |
Idaho | Risch, Jim | R | 53% | 32% |
Nevada | Guinn, Kenny | R | 53% | 40% |
Iowa | Vilsack, Tom | D | 52% | 44% |
Maryland | Ehrlich, Robert | R | 52% | 43% |
Mississippi | Barbour, Haley | R | 51% | 44% |
South Carolina | Sanford, Mark | R | 51% | 45% |
Washington | Gregoire, Christine | D | 51% | 45% |
Rhode Island | Carcieri, Don | R | 49% | 46% |
Massachusetts | Romney, Mitt | R | 48% | 49% |
Wisconsin | Doyle, Jim | D | 48% | 48% |
Maine | Baldacci, John | D | 45% | 51% |
New Jersey | Corzine, Jon | D | 45% | 50% |
California | Schwarzenegger, Arnold | R | 44% | 53% |
Illinois | Blagojevich, Rod | D | 44% | 52% |
Oregon | Kulongoski, Ted | D | 44% | 47% |
Michigan | Granholm, Jennifer | D | 43% | 53% |
Texas | Perry, Rick | R | 43% | 52% |
Delaware | Minner, Ruth | D | 42% | 51% |
Louisiana | Blanco, Kathleen | D | 42% | 56% |
New York | Pataki, George | R | 42% | 54% |
Missouri | Blunt, Matt | R | 40% | 54% |
Indiana | Daniels, Mitch | R | 39% | 54% |
Kentucky | Fletcher, Ernie | R | 24% | 73% |
Alaska | Murkowski, Frank | R | 19% | 76% |
Ohio | Taft, Bob | R | 17% | 79% |
U.S. Average | 49% | 47% |
Source: SurveyUSA
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 600 adult residents of each of the country’s 50 states, conducted from Aug. 11 to Aug. 13, 2006. Margins of error for each state range from 3.8 to 4.1 per cent.
