In the latest survey conducted Aug. 16-17 among registered voters by PPP the Governor sports an approval rating of 46 percent with 45 percent disapproving. It is independent voters who are holding her back. Only 33 percent approve of her job performance while 54 percent disapprove. But she remains popular with Hispanics who give her a 53 percent approval rating.
The poll was taken just days after the shocking August 13 murder of a 13 year old student at ABQ's Washington Middle School. His killing by a fellow student shook the state and dominated the news.
A mid-June SurveyUSA poll showed only 40 percent of those polled approved of MLG's handling of the crime issue but 50 percent of those surveyed gave her a positive job approval rating.
While MLG gets high marks for her coronavirus policies (59 percent approval in SurveyUSA) the continued negative impact of the virus on the economy and lifestyles have made for a decidedly more grumpy electorate. The virus resurgence in the form of the Delta variant hasn't helped her. Ditto for President Biden's recent polling struggles that began with that resurgence.
Looking back for perspective, in October 2020 MLG's approval rating was at 47 percent in a poll conducted by a group of universities so her numbers have been relatively steady.
The June landlslide by Democrat Melanie Stansbury over Republican Mark Moores for the vacant ABQ congressional seat heartened Dems as the crime attacks Moores pushed failed to take hold. However, another test looms as ABQ Dem Mayor Keller faces intense scrutiny of his crime fighting record as he seeks a second term in the Nov. 2 election.
The Governor was careful not to immediately swat down a recent call for a special session of the legislature on the crime crisis made by Republican leaders. With an electorate made more unpredictable by the unprecedented events during her administration, treading carefully could be her chosen modus operandi for the next year and half.
SENATORS IN CELLAR
While MLG's numbers may be "just okay" as her campaign ream reportedly told legislative leaders recently, she has bragging rights over the state's two US Senators. That PPP survey gives Dem Martin Heinrich an anemic approval score of 42 percent with 34 percent disapproval. But he's a tower of strength compared to fellow Dem Senator Ben Ray Lujan who gets an approval rating of 41 percent but a disapproval rating nearly equal that of 40 percent.
But don't read too much into that. At the end of December 2019 Heinrich had an approval rating of 39 percent. But just a year before, in 2018, he was re-elected with 54% of the vote in a three way race.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021