Snyder Tied For Title of Most Unpopular Governor in the United States

Think of it as the political Miss U.S.A. contest. The swimsuit competition. The catwalk. The talent competition. Then, the judges vote. In this case, the judges are, literally, voters, and millions of them are suffering some serious political buyer’s remorse. According to a piece published in Mother Jones on May 31, 2011, Michigan’s Republican Governor is neck-and-neck with Ohio’s Governor John Kasich, Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and Florida’s Rick Scott as the American governor with the lowest approval ratings.

According to Mother Jones:

Florida’s Rick Scott and Ohio’s John Kasich are currently the leading contenders for the title of the most unpopular governor in America, according to a recent Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey. (A mere 32 percent of respondents approve of Scott, while just 33 percent support Kasich. A separate Quinnipiac poll puts Scott’s approval even lower, at 29 percent.) Michigan’s Rick Snyder is struggling with a 33 percent approval rating, and in Wisconsin, 43 percent approve of Scott Walker, PPP found—down 3 points from February and 9 from Election Day 2010.

On March 3, 2011 A2Politico posted a piece about a poll conducted by the Freep in which it was reported that 27 percent of Michigan voters polled disapproved of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s performance. In particular, during his first two months in office, Snyder had lost the confidence of independents and Democrats who had supported his candidacy in November 2010.

According to the early-March 2011 poll reported by the Detroit Free Press:

“The huge popularity Snyder had in polls taken in late January sank considerably. Forty-four percent view Snyder favorably, and 27% view him unfavorably. In January, 59% viewed him favorably and 8% unfavorably. That was after Republican Snyder’s inauguration and his well-received State of the State address. Since then, he presented his budget plan Feb. 17, which features a sweeping reduction of business taxes and higher taxes for many individuals.”

That poll of 600 Michigan residents was conducted by EPIC/MRA of Lansing. Bernie Porn works for EPIC and had this to say about the results: “Voters’ assessment of Snyder appears to have shifted quickly and sharply. The shift was most pronounced among Democrats and independents, who apparently don’t share the governor’s view that his budget and tax plan represent shared sacrifice. Snyder’s favorable rating among independents fell from 40% in January to 26%.”

On March 22, 2011, the Detroit News reported that a poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, which surveyed 502 Michigan voters from March 18-20, found that Snyder’s approval rating had fallen sharply in just two weeks. Half of the voters surveyed disapproved of the Michigan Governor’s job performance. Officials at the polling company told the Detroit News that the margin of error for the survey was plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

Snyder responded to news of growing voter dissatisfaction in his job performance somewhat predictably. He was quoted as saying, “What mattered was what happened in November and I’m following through on what I campaigned on. I’m proud to say I said a number of things in the campaign and I’m following through. I believe over time the citizens of Michigan are going to be right there with me.”

The May 31st Mother Jones piece also draws on polling data provided by Public Policy Polling, and it appears from the latest polling numbers that Michigan residents are not “right there” with Snyder. In fact, Michigan residents are increasingly disapproving of Snyder’s far-right attacks on unions, the unemployed, the working class, the working poor, education—all in order to fund his largesse toward business, which will benefit from an estimated $1 billion in tax breaks.

While reporting on the race for the U.S. 1st Congressional District —a race which pitted an unknown Republican with Tea Party support against a popular state representative—Politico.com writers quoted Dem party leaders fretting over Virg Bernero’s poor performance. Would Bernero drag down the Democratic candidate in the Michigan 1st, and would Bart Stupak’s seat go to a Republican? In a piece for the Huffington Post, A2Politico reported on October 6, 2010 that:

In a Politico.com piece titled “Democrats fret over weak Midwest bids,” officials in the Democratic party worry that it’s not only Virg Bernero’s campaign that’s in trouble. “Democrats are increasingly concerned about the weakness of their statewide tickets across the heartland — and its potential effect on House candidates. The worries are focused on a slate of underperforming gubernatorial and Senate candidates across the Midwest who, when combined with a depressed party base, could cause serious problems for House incumbents and challengers….” writes Politico.com’s Alex Isenstadt.

The state Democratic Party’s poor support of Virg Bernero did, in fact, drag down the Democratic U.S. Congressional candidate, as well as a Washtenaw County Democratic candidate for the state legislature from the 52nd District. In October 2010 Virg Bernero was dubbed an “underperforming candidate.”

In May of 2011, Rick Snyder might be dubbed an “underperforming” GOP governor. In the Mother Jones piece, the writer poses the theory that Snyder, Kasich, Walker and Scott could, together, help re-elect Barack Obama. “Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin—the list reads like a roadmap for a 2012 victory, for either side. ‘Kasich and his first-term Republican brethren across the Midwest may be the best thing that’s ever happened to Barack Obama’s reelection chances,’ writes PPP pollster Tom Jensen.”

At a March 15, 2011 fundraiser for Michigan’s 15th District Republican Party held in Ann Arbor, the chair of the state’s Republican Party, Robert Schostak, crowed a bit about the GOP’s gains in what those not-in-the-know perceive as “liberal” Ann Arbor—where boot-licking Democratic City Council members supported the GOP candidate for governor, and Ann Arbor’s Democratic County Commissioner Conan Smith (son of former state legislator and gubernatorial candidate Alma Wheeler Smith) lauded the EFM legislation as “necessary” (Mother Jones referred to the same legislation as “financial martial law.”) “Liberal” Ann Arbor, where the Democratic Mayor heads a city government that exploits temporary workers paid less than those employed at Wal-Mart, and who championed a fair wage ordinance that exempted his own city government.

At that fundraiser, which A2Politico reported on here, Schostak told 15th District GOP heavy-hitters that one of the most important goals of the state party was to deliver Michigan to the GOP presidential candidate in 2012. Snyder, who was the keynote speaker, smiled broadly. He had plenty to smile about. His approval ratings were still hovering around 70 percent. That was then.

If Snyder believes Michigan residents are going to come around to his way of thinking, or get on board with what has been revealed as a grossly one-sided plan to take from the poor and give to the rich, he might be in for a rude awakening. His approval ratings have fallen from 70 percent to 33 percent in just the past 60 days. On May 21st Michigan voters began signing petitions to recall Snyder circulated by a group called Committee to Recall Rick Snyder. Party chair Schostak is sending emails soliciting donations to fund the campaign against Snyder’s recall. Nine Republican state legislators are targeted for recall, and wording for the recall petitions for two of the nine passed muster recently.

Michigan, Ohio, Florida and Wisconsin. I’ve heard it said that Rick Snyder has presidential ambitions. Unless his approval ratings improve significantly over the next 12 months, he could, almost single-handedly, dash the hopes any Republican presidential candidate might have of winning our state in 2012. On the other hand, governors control the state party machine, can call on grassroots activists and bring in cash from donors. But a governor under siege—such as Snyder—is likely to be avoided by a national candidate.

PPP’s Tom Jensen told Mother Jones, “You have a situation where people voted Republican last year and are quite unhappy with the results, and that might keep them from voting Republican again next year whether they’re enthralled with Obama or not.”