Morning Consult, a polling firm based in New York City once again has ranked Gov. Bill Walker near the bottom in popularity among the 50 governors. Walker’s “unfavorable” is high — 55 percent. His net approval is -29 percent, the second worst in the nation.
Of those running for re-election, Walker’s “favorable” rating is fourth from the bottom, with only 29 percent of Alaskans approving of the job he has done since taking office in 2014.
It’s almost unheard of for a politician to be re-elected with that level of disapproval. Gov. Sean Parnell had a 46.1 percent approval rating in some polls going into the 2014 election.
Polling in Alaska is notoriously difficult, but a recent poll conducted by the Alaska Chamber of Commerce shows why Walker may be out of favor with Alaskans:
- 78 percent want a cap on state spending
- 77 percent want work requirements for able-bodied Medicaid recipients
- 72 percent want cuts to State spending
- 68 percent support exploration and production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
- 67 percent support offshore Alaska oil and gas exploration and production.
Of those issues identified by voters, Gov. Walker has been on the wrong side of all of them, opposing a spending cap, work requirements for Medicaid, and famously refusing to reduce the size of government.
He recently wrote the co-chairs of House and Senate Finance committees asking them to redirect funds from work on seismic exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to an enhanced 911 system. And he threw shade on the Department of Interior’s offshore leasing program for Alaska:.
https://gov.alaska.gov/newsroom/2018/01/governor-walker-issues-statement-on-dept-of-interiors-five-year-offshore-leasing-plan/
