politics

Oregon's Top Elected Officials Maintain Positive Approval Ratings, Poll Says

By Jeff Mapes (OPB)
Washington Oct. 31, 2017 5:45 p.m.

A new poll finds that Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and the state's two U.S. senators continue to have more supporters than detractors among Oregon voters.

The survey by Morning Consult, an independent polling and consulting firm based in Washington, finds that 50 percent of voters give Brown positive marks while 33 percent rate her negatively.

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That's slightly lower than the 53 percent approval rating the Democratic governor received in a similar survey conducted by Morning Consult earlier in the year.

Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley were in a stronger position. Fifty-six percent approved of Wyden's job performance while 23 percent said they disapproved.

Merkley had a positive rating of 53 percent and a negative rating of 24 percent.  Both have appeared to see their support drop slightly, from 61 percent for Wyden earlier in the year and 57 percent for Merkley.

The Morning Consult polling in Oregon has a margin of error of two percentage points. It is based on a series of national polls conducted from July 1 to Sept. 30 across the country.

Wyden has the ninth strongest approval rating of any senator, while Merkley and Brown are in the middle of the pack.

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Morning Consult said ratings were generally down for senators — and for President Donald Trump — as Congress struggled with health care and ultimately did not pass Republican attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Among other governors, Brown is about average in her approval rating.  She is up for re-election next year and Republicans hope they can mount a strong challenge to her. Brown's main opponent at this point is State Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, who is matching her so far in fundraising.

The poll appears to show that unhappiness with Brown has not yet spread past the Republican base. But the national findings also show that voters in some heavily Democratic states are quite pleased with their Republican governors.

Morning Consult found that the two most popular governors in the country are both Republicans: Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker with 69 percent approval and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, with 66 percent approval.

The most popular senator in his own state is Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders and the least liked senator is Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell. He's the Senate majority leader who has faced criticism at times from Trump and the populist wing of his party.


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