PROVIDENCE – A poll released Monday does not put Gov. Daniel J. McKee in positive standing with local residents, and ranks him worst among all New England governors.
The Civic Health and Institutions Project’s 50 States Survey, known as CHIP50, collected survey responses from residents across the country asking if they approve or disapprove of their governor's job performance to date. CHIP50 also asked residents if they approve of President Donald Trump’s job performance.
The approval ratings for McKee, a Democrat who will be entering campaign mode to seek reelection as governor, are very low, according to 438 local residents who responded to the survey between April and June. McKee garnered just a 25% approval rating, which is down from 27% between November 2024 and January 2025. It is also down from between 31% and 37% from this time last year and from his high of 43% from November-December 2021, CHIP50’s data shows.
Trump, at 34%, has a higher approval rating in Rhode Island than McKee. The president’s rating in the Ocean State has increased by six percentage points since his inauguration in January, CHIP50 data shows. Also, McKee’s approval rating is 11 percentage points below the national average of 36% among all governors.
This isn’t the only poll in which McKee has not fared well. In May, a poll by The Survey Center at the University of New Hampshire found
only 19% approved of McKee’s job performance and nearly two-thirds of the 653 Rhode Islanders surveyed, 74%, said he should not run for reelection in November 2026.
In April,
Morning Consult’s polling showed McKee had a 44% approval rating through the first quarter. Additionally, McKee’s disapproval rating at 41% is the fourth worst among U.S. governors, according to Morning Consult’s latest numbers, and second worst in New England.
Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott has a 42% rating from residents in that state, per CHIP50’s data, the highest rating among all New England governors. Scott’s rating is eight percentage points higher than Trump’s 34% in that state.
In nearby Massachusetts, Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has a 40% approval rating, while only 30% of residents in the commonwealth support Trump, according to the data.
Other New England-based governors’ rankings are:
- Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D): 35% approval rating; 33% approval for Trump
- Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D): 32% approval rating; 35% approval for Trump
- New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R): 31% approval rating; 34% approval for Trump
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
