ALASKA GOVERNOR BUMPING ALONG THE BOTTOM
Gov. Bill Walker’s job approval rating is stuck at 29 percent since April, but his disapproval rating has started to climb and is now 54 percent, putting him upside down with voters, according to the July poll released by Morning Consult. This spells danger for him as Alaskans begin to focus on the election at hand.
Walker is the second-least popular governor who is running for reelection, after Gov. Bruce Rauner of Illinois. 60 percent of the Illinois poll respondents disapprove of Rauner, while 54 disapprove of Walker.
In April, Walker’s disapproval rate was 52 percent, according to the same polling company.
Those two numbers put Walker’s net approval rating at -24.
A net approval rating is achieved when the disapproval rating is subtracted from the approval rating. It’s a number that tells political observers just how popular a public figure is.
Gov. Rauner of Illinois, a Republican, has been written off as unelectable even as he faces an ally of disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has an even tougher net approval rating than Bill Walker: -34.
The most popular governor today is Republican Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, with a net approval rating of +52.
Comparing Walker with another well-known name, President Donald Trump’s net approval rating in Alaska is +10. It’s a 34 point difference between the sentiment for Trump and for Walker.
Morning Consult releases quarterly checks on governors’ popularity. In the July poll, Walker has inched closer to the bottom of the barrel, replacing Gov. Paul LePage of Maine as fifth least liked governor of the 50.
In April, 19 percent of respondents didn’t know or didn’t care to answer. That group of undecided Alaska respondents has shrunk to 17 percent in the July poll. The margin of error in Alaska is 5 percent on this poll.
As for the methodology, respondents indicated whether they approve or disapprove of the job performance of their U.S. governors. For each question, they could answer strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, strongly disapprove, or don’t know / no opinion.
