Baker Approval Rebounding: UMass-WCVB Poll

ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS — Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has some good news heading into the weekend: a new statewide poll shows that while he’s no longer the most popular governor in the country, his approval ratings are improving.

A UMass-Amherst/WCVB poll, which sampled 750 Bay State residents from Nov. 9-16, found that 56% approve of Baker’s job performance. Two-thirds of poll respondents say Baker has “met or exceeded their expectations” as governor, and 69% said that the state is either the same or better off than it was before he took office in 2015.

While these numbers are a far cry from Baker’s 78% approval rating in August 2020, when he was the country’s most popular governor, they show a noticeable improvement from a UMass-Amerherst/WCVB poll in March that showed just 52% statewide approval.

The poll showed that a majority of state residents approve of the way Baker has handled a number of hot-button issues. Overall, 50% of poll respondents believe Massachusetts is headed in the right direction, up from 47% in the March poll.

67% of respondents said that Baker is handling the pandemic well (a 7-point improvement from March), and 59% said that he has handled the economy well. 53% rated the Massachusetts economy as “good” or “excellent”, compared to just 32% who feel the same way about the national economy. 47% of poll respondents said they viewed their economic situation as good or excellent.

“Gov. Baker remains a singularly popular Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic state,” said Tatishe Nteta, associate professor of political science at UMass Amherst and director of the poll, in a university news release. “While his approval is down from the record highs seen in 2020, a majority of the residents of the commonwealth approve of the job that he has done in office and his approval ratings have rebounded from March of 2021, when he faced criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and his support for continued restrictions on businesses in the commonwealth.”

Ironically, the Republican governor’s lowest approval ratings come from his own party: just 41% of Republican voters said they approve of Baker’s performance, and 49% of Republican voters said he has fallen short of their expectations. 48% of Republicans, 51% of conservatives, and 56% of Trump voters said they perceive Baker as a liberal, not as a moderate or a conservative.

Meanwhile, 65% of Democrats, 48% of independents, and 74% of moderates approve of Baker. Baker holds a slightly higher approval rating among people of color (58%) than he does with whites (55%).

“Across demographic and political groups, Gov. Baker is viewed in a positive light, a true feat for a Republican in one of the bluest states in the nation,” Nteta said. “But he has a problem with his supposed base of voters in the Republican Party. When given the opportunity, conservatives, Republicans and Trump voters all express their disdain and disappointment with the governor’s leadership. While this may not affect him in the general election, he may have an issue connecting to Republican voters in a primary if he chooses to run in 2022.”

Still, Massachusetts is one of the nation’s bluest states, and professor of political science at UMass Amherst and associate poll director Raymond La Raja said Baker is in an “enviable position” if he chooses to seek a third term.

“He is liked by voters across virtually all groups, and with plenty of money to circulate throughout the state. That’s a double-barreled challenge for anyone choosing to compete against him,” La Raja said.