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 takes the checkered flag again: Republican Phil Scott of Vermont, a former NASCAR driver, is the country’s most popular governor for the second year running with an astounding 81% approval rating at home. His re-election in November looks to be formality.
Reynolds remains most unpopular: With the highest disapproval rating of any U.S. governor (48%), Kim Reynolds of Iowa is yet to recover from her attempts to dissuade Iowa conservatives from backing Trump in the Republican nominating contest this year.
Beshear the Democratic darling: With a 65% approval rating, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, who is among a cadre of Democratic governors viewed as the party’s rising stars, remains the most popular of the bunch.
See more in our latest Governor Approval Outlook.
Data Downloads
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America’s most popular and unpopular governors
- Scott of Vermont is America’s most popular governor, with an 81% approval rating. He’s followed by Kentucky’s Beshear and Maryland Democrat Wes Moore, who each get positive marks from roughly 2 in 3 voters in their respectively deep-red and deep-blue states.
- Republican Jim Justice boasts a 63% 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: Governor’s approval ratings
- Sentiment about New York Democrat Kathy Hochul is trending negative: The latest figures show 48% of voters approve of her (down from 51% a year ago), while 44% disapprove (up from 40% over the same time period).
- As he’s found himself in the national spotlight in conversations about the future of the Democratic Party, Gavin Newsom has held his steady support at home in California, with a 54% approval rating. Meanwhile, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer has become more popular in Michigan when compared to the beginning of Biden’s presidency.
- Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas has ended a streak of quarterly declines in her approval rating since taking office in 2023. The Republican and former White House press secretary for Donald Trump gets positive marks from 58% of her state’s voters, while 34% disapprove.
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].
