06-01-2016
Only three governors in the country have a lower approval rating than Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin does, according to a recent survey of more than 66,000 voters in all 50 states.
Bevin has a 33 percent approval rating, according to a Morning Consult survey, a media and technology company dealing with politics, policy and business strategies.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who is at the center of the Flint water crisis, had an approval rating of 32 percent approval rating.
“America’s newest governors, Kentucky Republican Matt Bevin and Louisiana Democrat John Bel Edwards, have experienced opposite fates as voters have gotten to know them better since they were elected last fall,” the survey states.
“In the Bluegrass State, Bevin’s approval rating sits at 33 percent, well below the 57 percent support which his Democratic predecessor Steve Beshear enjoyed before he left office,” the survey continued.
Besides his 33 percent approval rating, the survey found 48 percent disapprove of Bevin, while 19 percent are undecided or do not know. Bevin’s survey had a 4.8 percent margin of error.
The Kentucky governor won over not only the state, but the southern Pennyrile in last November’s general election. During his six months in office, he’s caught heat for cutting higher education funding and dismantling kynect, the state’s healthcare exchange.
The two lowest are Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy at 29 percent, and Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback at 26 percent.
The highest in the survey is Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker with a 72 percent approval rating.
The survey found the three governors who took a stab at running for president only experienced a minor impact in their numbers.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie experienced a four-point drop in his approval rating, taking him to 36 percent. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich didn’t see much change at all.
The Morning Consult’s survey was conducted between January and May, according to a release. The data was weighted using the U.S. Census Bureau’s current population survey, and sample sizes differed with each state, depending on population.By Rebecca Walter
Kentucky New Era
