VA Governor's Approval Rating At 51% As Administration Marks First 100 Days

RICHMOND, VA — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is marking his first 100 days in office by highlighting the passage of a bill allowing students to opt out of wearing masks in schools and touting an economy that continues to perform well under his leadership.

The Republican governor's first 100 days in office came as Morning Consult Political Intelligence released its quarterly tracking of the popularity of the nation's governors, which showed Youngkin's favorability rating in the middle of the pack.

Registered voters in Virginia were asked if they approved of Youngkin's job performance. The survey found that 51 percent of voters approved, while 35 percent disapproved. Across the country, all but eight governors were backed by 50 percent or more of their state’s voters.

During his first 100 days in office, Youngkin noted that he issued 17 executive actions and signed 700 bills. The governor highlighted certain key actions, including reforming the state's parole board, renaming the state's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office to include Opportunity, and ending the use of "inherently divisive concepts" in schools.

"I will continue to work on behalf of all Virginians to lower the cost of living, keep our communities safe, make government work for the people again and restore academic excellence in our schools,” Youngkin said in a statement.

Similar to how the economy performed under the leadership of former Gov. Ralph Northam, Virginia is continuing to attract new business investment in 2022.

Last month, Google announced it will be investing more than $300 million in Virginia in 2022, as well as providing a $250,000 grant to promote computer science education and workforce development across the state.

Youngkin was on hand in Reston to thank Google for choosing Virginia to make its investment, which he said would create more jobs for future generations in the state.

"A $300 million investment from Google this year, underpins and translates into $9 billion of near economic contribution to the Commonwealth for Google," he said. "It's these kinds of investments that we see impact Virginians all over the Commonwealth."

As budget talks continue in Richmond, Youngkin’s proposal to eliminate the grocery tax remains on hold as the Republican-led House of Delegates and Democratic-controlled Senate decide on how much of the grocery tax to cut.

The governor's bid to suspend the 26-cent per gallon gas tax failed to pass the Senate Finance Committee last week. But the General Assembly could pass a more modest reduction in the gas tax that gets included in a final fiscal year 2023 budget bill.

In February, Youngkin signed a bill that provided a parental opt-out from school mask mandates in school districts, after the legislation cleared both the Virginia Senate and House. Youngkin added an emergency clause to the bill, setting March 1 as the effective date that all school districts in the state must comply with the law. Most bills, after they are signed by the governor, have a July 1 effective date.

Youngkin has come under criticism for his bid to reshape public education in Virginia.

Virginia's public school administrators accused the Youngkin administration of making statements about "divisive concepts" being taught in schools without providing any evidence. They also called on Youngkin to immediately scrap a tip line created for residents to report teachers and schools to his administration.

Youngkin, along with other Republican governors, are pushing to eliminate the teaching of certain topics in public schools, including parts of U.S. and world history, so that children are not made to feel uncomfortable.

Among neighboring states, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland received the third-highest favorability rating in the nation, according to the Morning Consult survey. Seventy-one percent of registered voters in Maryland approved of Hogan's job performance, while 22 percent disapproved of Hogan's performance.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, had the fourth-highest approval rating among governors. Sixty-five percent of registered voters surveyed in West Virginia approved of Justice's performance, while 27 percent disapproved of his performance, according to the survey.

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts is the most popular governor in the country, with a 74 percent approval rating. Facing 54-percent disapproval, Democratic Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon is the nation's most unpopular governor.

With Democrat Phil Murphy winning reelection as governor in New Jersey, Youngkin was the only new governor to take office in 2022.

Morning Consult surveyed at least 601 registered voters in each state. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percent to 4 percent.

RELATED:

• VA School Superintendents Urge Youngkin To Terminate Tip Line
• VA Student Mask Mandates To End March 1 After Youngkin Signs Bill