PROVIDENCE – A new poll from Morning Consult released Thursday shows some mixed results for Gov. Daniel J. McKee.
While the Democrat’s latest approval rating mark from Morning Consult is significantly higher than some polls that were recently released, McKee’s disapproval rating is still among the bottom-six in the U.S.
The national data research organization’s new poll shows McKee with a 45% approval rating for the second quarter, one percentage point higher than both last quarter and at this time a year ago. That approval rating offers McKee some bright spots considering recent polls, including from
Salve Regina University’s Pell Center,
the Civic Health and Institutions Project’s 50 States Survey and
the Survey Center at the University of New Hampshire, haven’t painted the Ocean State’s top elected official in a good way.
His disapproval rating, at 40%, has dropped by a percentage point from last quarter, per Morning Consult’s poll. However, McKee’s disapproval rating is tied for fourth-worst among all 50 U.S. governors with Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Only Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds [49%], Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills [46%] and Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz [41%] have worse disapproval ratings than McKee, according to the poll.
Fourteen percent were undecided on Mckee’s job performance, the poll states.
The last time McKee’s approval rating in Morning Consult was higher than 50% was in the second quarter of 2023, Morning Consult says, where he gained a 52% approval rating.
Also, McKee’s highest rating was in the third quarter of 2021 – 60% – around when he became interim governor after Gina M. Raimondo left Rhode Island to be the U.S. commerce secretary.
Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey netted a 59% approval rating and a 30% disapproval rating, both marks up from last quarter by one percentage point, the poll states. Both of Healey’s ratings are the same as they were this time last year.
Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott, at 72%, had the highest approval rating in Morning Consult’s latest poll among all governors. Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont is tied for fifth-best approval rating at 63% with Hawaii Democratic Gov. Josh Green.
New Hampshire Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, in her first term, recorded a 50% approval rating, per Morning Consult, up by one percentage point from the first quarter. But, Ayotte’s disapproval rating rose from 31% in the first quarter to 37% in the second.
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.
