Survey Says Greg Abbott Of Texas Is Nation's Seventh Most-Popular Governor

AUSTIN, TX — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is the nation's seventh-most-popular governor, according to a new poll.

More than 85,000 registered voters across America evaluated the job performance of their governors from from January 2017 through March 2017 to determine the latest rankings in the Morning Consult poll. Abbott emerges as the seventh-ranked governor in terms of approval rating, with 64 percent approving of his performance and 24 percent registering disapproval.

On each poll, Americans indicated whether they approved or disapproved of the job performance of Donald Trump, their state governor, both of their U.S. senators, their member of Congress and their mayor (if they lived in a city with more than about 10,000 residents), pollsters explained in describing the methodology utilized. For each question, respondents could answer strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, strongly disapprove, or don’t know / no opinion.

The top six governors in terms of approval ratings are, like Abbott, Republican governors. Besting Abbott among his peers were: Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, with a 75 percent approval rating among poll respondents; Larry Hogan of Maryland, two percentage points behind the board leader; Doug Burgum of North Dakota, with a 69 percent approval rating; Phil Scott of Vermont, garnering a 68 percent favorable rating; Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota, also at 68 percent approval (but 23 percent disapproval rating versus Scott's 16 percent); and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, with a 67 percent approval rating.

Less enviable results are reserved for GOP gubernatorial cellar dwellers in the ranking, chiefly Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey—the nation's least popular governor, according to the poll—and Sam Brownback of Kansas.

A mere 25 percent of New Jersey poll respondents approve of Christi, who continues to face repercussions from the "Bridgegate" scandal when a major artery was closed in what appears to have been political retribution for a dissenting politician. A full 71 percent of respondents disapprove of Christie, who was one of the first to endorse Trump for president after dropping out of the race early last year.

Christi's poll numbers took a hit after the endorsement, and have continued trending downward, to the point that he knocked off Brownback from the top perch in the dubious distinction of most unpopular governor.

For his part, Brownback has approval of just 27 percent, with 66 percent disapproving of his performance as governor. Brownback is currently in the midst of an intra-party battle with more moderate Republicans in the state legislature who are attempting to expand Medicaid while addressing a budget shortfall prompted by Brownback-pushed tax cuts, pollsters noted.

Interestingly, the two most popular governors, Barker and Hogan, managed to secure their high ratings in traditionally blue states. Both have reputations as bi-partisan deal-makers prizing results over party purity, and respondents clearly appreciate that style of governance, pollsters noted.

Not so in Texas, where Abbott is known for throwing red-meat issues to energize his political base in a largely red state—cracking down on undocumented immigrants, limiting transgender individuals' use of public bathrooms matching their sexual identities and the like. He also appeals to his conservative base via Twitter, where's he's never shy to infuse passages from the Bible in his posts.

The tactics appear to be working. Despite a shrunken budget after more robust years pre-dating his ascendance as governor, he remains popular. Prior to the current legislative session, the state comptroller's office said said lawmakers would have a budget of some $105 billion over the next two years, a drop of nearly $10 billion.

That runs counter to the much-touted "Texas Miracle" positing the Lone Star State as distinguishing itself from other states in terms of financial strength. But in fairness, much of the recent budget shrinkage is attributable to falling gas prices. But when it comes to Abbott, his popularity doesn't seem to be running out of gas anytime soon.

To view the full survey results, click here.

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