(Angus Reid Global Scan) – North Dakota Republican John Hoeven remains the most popular state head of government 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.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – North Dakota Republican John Hoeven remains the most popular state head of government 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.
Nebraska Republican Dave Heineman and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin are next on the list with 76 per cent each, followed by Utah Republican Jon Huntsman with 75 per cent, Connecticut Republican Jodi Rell and Montana Democrat Brian Schweitzer with 73 per cent each, and New Hampshire Democrat John Lynch with 72 per cent.
The average approval rating for U.S. governors is 53 per cent. The lowest-ranked politicians are Kentucky Republican Ernie Fletcher with 28 per cent, Alaska Republican Frank Murkowski with 20 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 |
North Dakota | Hoeven, John | R | 78% | 15% |
Nebraska | Heineman, Dave | R | 76% | 19% |
West Virginia | Manchin, Joe | D | 76% | 20% |
Utah | Huntsman, Jon | R | 75% | 20% |
Connecticut | Rell, Jodi | R | 73% | 22% |
Montana | Schweitzer, Brian | D | 73% | 20% |
New Hampshire | Lynch, John | D | 72% | 22% |
Oklahoma | Henry, Brad | D | 67% | 26% |
Wyoming | Freudenthal, Dave | D | 67% | 27% |
Kansas | Sebelius, Kathleen | D | 64% | 30% |
Alabama | Riley, Bob | R | 63% | 33% |
Georgia | Perdue, Sonny | R | 63% | 31% |
Hawaii | Lingle, Linda | R | 62% | 33% |
Tennessee | Bredesen, Phil | D | 62% | 32% |
New Mexico | Richardson, Bill | D | 61% | 36% |
South Dakota | Rounds, Mike | R | 61% | 35% |
Idaho | Kempthorne, Dirk | R | 60% | 33% |
Florida | Bush, Jeb | R | 59% | 38% |
Vermont | Douglas, Jim | R | 59% | 37% |
Arizona | Napolitano, Janet | D | 58% | 38% |
Nevada | Guinn, Kenny | R | 58% | 33% |
Pennsylvania | Rendell, Edward | D | 58% | 36% |
Arkansas | Huckabee, Mike | R | 56% | 39% |
Mississippi | Barbour, Haley | R | 56% | 41% |
Iowa | Vilsack, Tom | D | 55% | 40% |
North Carolina | Easley, Michael | D | 55% | 38% |
Virginia | Kaine, Tim | D | 55% | 34% |
South Carolina | Sanford, Mark | R | 54% | 41% |
Colorado | Owens, Bill | R | 53% | 42% |
Minnesota | Pawlenty, Tim | R | 51% | 46% |
Texas | Perry, Rick | R | 51% | 45% |
Rhode Island | Carcieri, Don | R | 49% | 46% |
Washington | Gregoire, Christine | D | 45% | 50% |
Wisconsin | Doyle, Jim | D | 45% | 49% |
Maryland | Ehrlich, Robert | R | 44% | 51% |
Illinois | Blagojevich, Rod | D | 43% | 51% |
Maine | Baldacci, John | D | 43% | 54% |
Delaware | Minner, Ruth | D | 42% | 53% |
Michigan | Granholm, Jennifer | D | 42% | 56% |
Missouri | Blunt, Matt | R | 42% | 53% |
New Jersey | Corzine, Jon | D | 41% | 52% |
New York | Pataki, George | R | 41% | 55% |
Indiana | Daniels, Mitch | R | 40% | 54% |
California | Schwarzenegger, Arnold | R | 39% | 58% |
Louisiana | Blanco, Kathleen | D | 39% | 59% |
Massachusetts | Romney, Mitt | R | 39% | 56% |
Oregon | Kulongoski, Ted | D | 32% | 59% |
Kentucky | Fletcher, Ernie | R | 28% | 67% |
Alaska | Murkowski, Frank | R | 20% | 78% |
Ohio | Taft, Bob | R | 18% | 79% |
U.S. Average | 53% | 42% |
Source: SurveyUSA
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 600 adult residents of each of the country’s 50 states, conducted from Jun. 9 to Jun. 11, 2006. Margins of error for each state range from 3.8 to 4.1 per cent.
