READ FULL STORY HEREWhatever the latest round of news, positive or negative may be, President Obama’s national approval rating has held seemingly steady for many months now. However consistent his standing with the American public is at large, when viewed at a state by state level there are wildly divergent opinions on the performance of the Commander in Chief.
According to Gallup, and most other pollsters, the President’s approval rating has been locked in the 45-50% range since early last fall when interest the health care debate peaked and Obama’s popularity dipped. Currently Gallup pegs the President with a 49% approval and 44% disapproval, but his ratings differ greatly between certain states and regions.
The overall picture is that of a Presidency trending downward in recent months. Obama’s 49% approval rating for the first half of 2010 is a considerable drop off from the 57% he enjoyed through the first six months of 2009. Still the President enjoys high levels of support from certain pockets of the country. States that Obama won by the widest of margins in the 2008 election continue, not surprisingly, to be the states where the President has the largest number of supporters. Gallup surveyed nearly 91,000 residents in all fifty states including 4,671 in Pennsylvania as part of their mid-year “State of the States” series.
Obama won 92.5% of the popular vote in Washington D.C. and the nation's capital remains strongest in support for the President with 85% of its residence approving of his job performance. With nearly 72% of the popular vote take in 2008 Hawaii was Obama’s second most supportive state. Hawaii remains strong with Obama to this day with 68% of responders approving of his Presidency. In total there are sixteen states that continue to deliver the President with a better than 50% approval rating and another fifteen where that approval ratings exceeds his disapproval. That is however down considerably from the second half of 2009 when Gallup’s previous study indicated all but nine states at over a 50% approval for Obama and only Idaho and Wyoming with a higher disapproval than approval rating for the President.
The downward trend for the administration in recent months does not shift the overall picture however. Of the 28-states (including Washington D.C.) that went for Obama in November, 2008 almost all rank as the President’s 27 most supportive in mid-2010. In each instance the President pulls in a positive net approval rating and stands at least 47%. The one exception is in the battleground state of New Hampshire where Obama has cratered to a 41-52% approval to disapproval margin. The “Granite State” has long been viewed as something of a political outsider in the largely liberal New England so its negative views of the President’s job performance while eye opening are not exactly shocking revelations.
Obama’s approval rating is currently under-40% in seven states, most of whom voted heavily against the then Illinois Senator in 2008. Only Montana, a state that the President lost by less than 12,000 votes in 2008 but has just a 38% approval rating with now represents a significant shift. Pennsylvania in true swing-state fashion lands almost perfectly in the middle of Obama’s popularity rankings at 26th position and with an approval to disapproval rating (48-45%) very similar to his overall national standing. New Jersey meanwhile is the President’s twelfth most supportive state (52-41%) and Delaware scores him his third best ratings (62-29%) in the nation.
With the President’s popularity from one state to the next differing considerably so to not consistent is his falloff from Gallup’s last study concluded at the beginning of the year. The top five states where Obama’s approval rating has fallen by the largest percentile are Missouri (-14.5%), Utah (-13.8%), Vermont (-13.7%), New Hampshire (-13.6%) and Kentucky (-12.8). In the solidly red states of Utah and Kentucky his drop is fairly consistent with the overall disapproval registered within the Republican Party. Missouri however was a battleground state in 2008 that he lost narrowly to Senator John McCain. New Hampshire is a blue state that the President now see's dropping heavily into the negatives while the ultra-blue state of Vermont while experiencing significant deterioration in popularity remains solid for Obama.
With an eight-point dip in his national approval rating positives at a state level are difficult to find. In fact the President is more popular than he was six months ago in just one state. Delaware has actually shown tiny improvement for Obama since the end of 2009 delivering him a 62% approval rating which is about a single point improvement from six months ago. Other states where the President is experiencing a comparatively softer landing are Hawaii (-2.8%), Colorado (-3.3%), Mississippi (-4.8%), New Mexico (-4.9%) and Texas (-4.9%). In Pennsylvania (-9.4%) and New Jersey (-11%) meanwhile Obama’s dip in approval exceeds that of his overall decline at a national level.
PHOTO CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS / Cliff Owen
According to Gallup, and most other pollsters, the President’s approval rating has been locked in the 45-50% range since early last fall when interest the health care debate peaked and Obama’s popularity dipped. Currently Gallup pegs the President with a 49% approval and 44% disapproval, but his ratings differ greatly between certain states and regions.
The overall picture is that of a Presidency trending downward in recent months. Obama’s 49% approval rating for the first half of 2010 is a considerable drop off from the 57% he enjoyed through the first six months of 2009. Still the President enjoys high levels of support from certain pockets of the country. States that Obama won by the widest of margins in the 2008 election continue, not surprisingly, to be the states where the President has the largest number of supporters. Gallup surveyed nearly 91,000 residents in all fifty states including 4,671 in Pennsylvania as part of their mid-year “State of the States” series.
Obama won 92.5% of the popular vote in Washington D.C. and the nation's capital remains strongest in support for the President with 85% of its residence approving of his job performance. With nearly 72% of the popular vote take in 2008 Hawaii was Obama’s second most supportive state. Hawaii remains strong with Obama to this day with 68% of responders approving of his Presidency. In total there are sixteen states that continue to deliver the President with a better than 50% approval rating and another fifteen where that approval ratings exceeds his disapproval. That is however down considerably from the second half of 2009 when Gallup’s previous study indicated all but nine states at over a 50% approval for Obama and only Idaho and Wyoming with a higher disapproval than approval rating for the President.
The downward trend for the administration in recent months does not shift the overall picture however. Of the 28-states (including Washington D.C.) that went for Obama in November, 2008 almost all rank as the President’s 27 most supportive in mid-2010. In each instance the President pulls in a positive net approval rating and stands at least 47%. The one exception is in the battleground state of New Hampshire where Obama has cratered to a 41-52% approval to disapproval margin. The “Granite State” has long been viewed as something of a political outsider in the largely liberal New England so its negative views of the President’s job performance while eye opening are not exactly shocking revelations.
Obama’s approval rating is currently under-40% in seven states, most of whom voted heavily against the then Illinois Senator in 2008. Only Montana, a state that the President lost by less than 12,000 votes in 2008 but has just a 38% approval rating with now represents a significant shift. Pennsylvania in true swing-state fashion lands almost perfectly in the middle of Obama’s popularity rankings at 26th position and with an approval to disapproval rating (48-45%) very similar to his overall national standing. New Jersey meanwhile is the President’s twelfth most supportive state (52-41%) and Delaware scores him his third best ratings (62-29%) in the nation.
With the President’s popularity from one state to the next differing considerably so to not consistent is his falloff from Gallup’s last study concluded at the beginning of the year. The top five states where Obama’s approval rating has fallen by the largest percentile are Missouri (-14.5%), Utah (-13.8%), Vermont (-13.7%), New Hampshire (-13.6%) and Kentucky (-12.8). In the solidly red states of Utah and Kentucky his drop is fairly consistent with the overall disapproval registered within the Republican Party. Missouri however was a battleground state in 2008 that he lost narrowly to Senator John McCain. New Hampshire is a blue state that the President now see's dropping heavily into the negatives while the ultra-blue state of Vermont while experiencing significant deterioration in popularity remains solid for Obama.
With an eight-point dip in his national approval rating positives at a state level are difficult to find. In fact the President is more popular than he was six months ago in just one state. Delaware has actually shown tiny improvement for Obama since the end of 2009 delivering him a 62% approval rating which is about a single point improvement from six months ago. Other states where the President is experiencing a comparatively softer landing are Hawaii (-2.8%), Colorado (-3.3%), Mississippi (-4.8%), New Mexico (-4.9%) and Texas (-4.9%). In Pennsylvania (-9.4%) and New Jersey (-11%) meanwhile Obama’s dip in approval exceeds that of his overall decline at a national level.
PHOTO CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS / Cliff Owen
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