Tracking the Approval Ratings of All 50 U.S. Governors
Morning Consult is conducting thousands of surveys every day, asking registered U.S. voters in all 50 states if they approve or disapprove of their governor’s job performance. Every quarter, we’ll update this page with the latest tracking data.
Sign up for the latest political news and analysis delivered to your inbox every morning, and access more information in our latest Governor Approval Outlook.
Key Takeaways
Scott remains most popular amid re-election run: Republican Phil Scott of Vermont, notched his 9th quarter in a row as the country’s most popular governor, although his approval rating has dropped by almost double digits (from 81% to 73%) since last quarter as he seeks re-election.
Reynolds remains most unpopular: With the highest disapproval rating of any U.S. governor (47%), Kim Reynolds (R–Iowa) remains the most unpopular governor for the third quarter in a row.
Kemp is the most popular swing-state governor: With a 61% approval rating, Brian Kemp of Georgia (R) is the country’s most popular governor leading an Electoral College battleground, followed by Democrat Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. See more in our latest Governor Approval Outlook.
Data Downloads
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America’s most popular and unpopular governors
- Maura Healey (D-Mass.) entered the ranks of the 10 most popular governors this quarter, replacing Republican Chris Sununu of neighboring New Hampshire.
- There are four new faces among the 10 most unpopular governors: Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), Greg Abbott (R-Texas) and JB Pritzker (D-Ill.) replace Dan McKee (D-R.I.), Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), Tony Evers (D-Wis.) and Janet Mills (D-Maine).
- Republican Jim Justice boasts a 65% approval rating at home in West Virginia as he seeks the Senate seat currently held by retiring independent Joe Manchin, who is among the country’s most unpopular senators. (See senator ratings here.)
Trend over time: Governors' approval ratings
- All three incumbents seeking re-election this year saw declines in popularity since last quarter, led by Republicans Phil Scott of Vermont and Greg Gianforte of Montana, who each saw their approval ratings decline by 8 percentage points. Another Republican, Spencer Cox of Utah, saw a smaller decline in approval, from 55% to 53%.
- New York Democrat Kathy Hochul’s approval rating (47%) is as low as it’s been since her first quarter as governor, when many voters had yet to form an opinion of her. Her disapproval rating has doubled since she entered office, from 21% to 43%.
- As Democrat Tim Walz of Minnesota hit the campaign trail as the Democratic vice presidential candidate, his approval rating at home climbed to 56%, its highest since late 2022.
Methodology
All state-level data is based on a three-month roll-up of responses from Morning Consult’s daily U.S. tracking survey among registered voters. Margins of error among registered voters vary by state, from as low as +/- 6 percentage points in less populous states such as Wyoming to +/- 1 point in more populous states such as California.
Consult our State-Level Tracking Methodology Primer for additional details on the state-level data sources, including sampling and data collection procedures, weighting and representativeness, margins of error, and question wording.
About Morning Consult
Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com.
Eli Yokley is Morning Consult’s U.S. politics analyst. Eli joined Morning Consult in 2016 from Roll Call, where he reported on House and Senate campaigns after five years of covering state-level politics in the Show Me State while studying at the University of Missouri in Columbia, including contributions to The New York Times, Politico and The Daily Beast. Follow him on Twitter @eyokley. Interested in connecting with Eli to discuss his analysis or for a media engagement or speaking opportunity? Email [email protected].
Cameron Easley is Morning Consult’s lead analyst for U.S. politics. Prior to moving into his current role, he led Morning Consult's editorial coverage of U.S. politics and elections from 2016 through 2022. Cameron joined Morning Consult from Roll Call, where he was managing editor. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Follow him on Twitter @cameron_easley. Interested in connecting with Cameron to discuss his analysis or for a media engagement or speaking opportunity? Email [email protected].
