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TOPLINE
The coronavirus pandemic has had a seismic effect on Americans’ views of their governors, with most previously unpopular ones who instituted strict lockdown measures shooting way up in the polls while some broadly popular ones who failed to take early action slipping into the negative ratings.
MANHASSET, NEW YORK – MAY 06: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo displays the N-95 mask he wears during … [+]
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KEY FACTS
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has presided over the sharp escalation and gradual decline of coronavirus cases attributed to an early and strict stay-at-home order, has seen a nearly 30-point increase in his approval.
Cuomo enjoyed a 77% approval rating in an April Siena poll, a sharp increase from his 49% approval in a Siena poll in January.
Other previously unpopular Democratic governors in the Northeast, like Connecticut’s Ned Lamont and Rhode Island’s Gina Raimondo, have seen similar bumps after signing stay-at-home orders in late March.
Both Lamont and Raimondo were underwater by 20 points in a Morning Consult poll in December, but a Bryant poll in April put Raimondo at 81% approval, while a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday showed Lamont at 65% approval.
But some Republican governors like Georgia’s Brian Kemp and Florida’s Ron DeSantis, both of whom were criticized for late responses to the virus, have seen their approval ratings drop since the pandemic began.
Morning Consult had DeSantis as the 7th most popular governor in the country, but a UNF poll released in April showed DeSantis’s approval dropping 7 points since December.
Kemp, who has drawn additional heat for his early reopening, had a 52% disapproval rating in a GOP internal poll in April, down precipitously from December when he enjoyed 53% approval and 27% disapproval.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has spoken out against enforcing strict shutdown measures, garnered a 56% approval rating in a Texas Tribune poll in April, a 2 point drop from December.
Key Background
The pandemic has, broadly speaking, improved how Americans view their governors. A FiveThirtyEight analysis found that most governors who were polled during the pandemic saw a bump. Those who instituted some of the strictest measures like Cuomo, California’s Gavin Newsom, Ohio’s Mike DeWine and Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer have enjoyed the largest increases. Other governors who took strong measures like Maryland’s Larry Hogan, Massachusetts’ Charlie Baker saw more modest bumps, but mostly because they were already wildly popular before the pandemic.
One other governor who has seen a boost is Iowa’s Kim Reynolds, who went from 44% approval in December to 54% in a Harvard poll in May. Reynolds, a Republican, issued some restrictions but resisted calls to institute a full stay-at-home order–although some experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci have said her cumulative orders are equivalent to other states’ stay-at-home orders. Early on, Iowa avoided the brunt of the pandemic, but there are signs that is changing fast.
Surprising Fact
In December, some of the most popular Governors in the country were actually Republicans in heavily Democratic states. Hogan, Baker and Vermont Governor Phil Scott were the second, third and fourth most popular governors in Morning Consult’s poll. All ten of the most popular governors in that poll were Republicans.
Tangent
Like Kemp and DeSantis, President Trump has received a lot of flack from critics for his coronavirus response. He resisted pressure to issue a national stay-at-home order, and has voiced support for anti-lockdown protestors. Polls early on in the pandemic showed Trump’s approval rating nearing a positive margin for the first time since his inauguration, but it faced a steep drop in April and Trump has since remained underwater.
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