Governor’s approval rating sinks in new poll

With 48 percent of voters disapproving of performance, Martinez tied with disgraced former Alabama governor

A new poll ranks Gov. Susana Martinez as the 10th least popular governor in the country. She dropped to the bottom 10 after tying the disapproval rating of Alabama’s governor, who resigned Monday amid corruption allegations.

Conducted during the two-month legislative session that ended in mid-March, the survey shows dissatisfaction with Martinez is at a high point. She has clashed often with lawmakers and has threatened a government shutdown while the state remains mired in a financial crisis and its unemployment rate is America’s highest.

Forty-eight percent of registered voters in New Mexico surveyed by the Washington-based research firm Morning Consult disapproved of the job Martinez is doing, while 43 percent approved. The other 8 percent said they did not have an opinion. The poll included 556 New Mexicans and has a 4 percent margin of error.

The results show a decline in the governor’s approval rating during the past few months.

Fifty percent of registered voters said they approved of Martinez’s job performance in a poll by Morning Consult in September.

And the results appear to be a trend rather than a blip.

A poll published by the same firm in November 2015 pegged the governor’s job approval rating at 54 percent.

Martinez, a Republican, enjoyed approval ratings above 60 percent during much of her first term. But polls during the past couple years have found declining support for her.

Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed in March by the firm Public Policy Polling rated Martinez as either doing a “not so good” or “poor” job. A poll by the firm Research and Polling published last October found 42 percent of likely voters surveyed approved of her job performance and 44 percent disapproved.

In her second term, a sharp drop in oil and gas prices took the momentum from a central piece of New Mexico’s economy. Other sectors are still sluggish four years after legislators approved corporate tax reductions that Martinez coveted because she said they would bring in new companies.

The decline in energy prices and years of tax cuts have undermined the state’s budget, prompting cuts across government.

Martinez has dug in, refusing to raise taxes and vetoing much of the budget that lawmakers approved in March, including funding for the state’s universities.

She embarked this week on a tour of what have typically been more supportive communities in Southern New Mexico to make her case that her vetoes were good for the taxpayer. Her vetoes included a package of tax and fee increases that lawmakers approved. They say the tax increases were crafted in concert with Martinez.

Democrats say Martinez is divisive.

“Time and again Gov. Martinez’s Republican priorities have left New Mexico families behind and pushed our state into economic turmoil,” state Democratic Party Chairwoman Debra Haaland said in a statement.

Chris Sanchez and Michael Lonergan, spokesmen for Martinez, did not respond to a request for comment.

The results from Morning Consult are part of a nationwide online survey that included 85,000 registered voters.

Morning Consult found two-term New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, is the nation’s least popular governor. Only a quarter of the New Jersey voters surveyed approved of his job performance.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican who was elected in November, ranked as the most popular governor. Sixty-eight percent of registered voters approved of his job performance.

The results show voters tiring of many incumbents.

Of the nine governors with worse approval ratings than Martinez, seven are in their second term. Only two — Republicans Bill Walker of Alaska and Bruce Rauner of Illinois — have lower approval ratings and are still in their first term.

Meanwhile, many of the governors with the highest approval ratings are newer. But there are exceptions.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval entered office in 2011, the same year as Martinez, and he still has approval ratings above 60 percent. Gary Herbert of Utah took office in 2009 and is still registering strong poll numbers. Both are Republicans and, though Utah is a reliably red state, Nevada has become a battleground.

Martinez’s disapproval rating of 48 percent tied with that of Robert Bentley, who stepped down as governor of Alabama on Monday to face criminal charges over allegations he violated his state’s campaign finance laws. Bentley boasted a slightly higher approval rating (44 percent to Martinez’s 43 percent), and fewer Alabamans surveyed said they did not have an opinion on their nowdisgraced governor. Polling from Bentley’s state came with a smaller margin of error.

Morning Consult’s polling also found about half of New Mexicans approve of the jobs of both their U.S. senators. Fifty-three percent of voters surveyed said they approve of Sen. Tom Udall’s work, while 48 percent said the same of Sen. Martin Heinrich. Thirty-one percent of voters polled disapproved of the job performance of each senator. But about one-fifth of those surveyed said they did not have an opinion of Heinrich, a relatively high rate and a potential problem for the Democrat as he prepares to run for re-election next year.