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POLL WATCH

Latest Round-Up of Obama Poll Ratings by State

2 years ago
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Bruce Drake
Bruce Drake
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The latest round-up of President Obama's job approval or favorability ratings by state updates or adds Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, and Texas.
One notable finding in this round of polls: Rasmussen has been asking voters whether their personal finances were getting worse, better or staying about the same. (Previously, Rasmussen had asked whether they thought the economy was getting worse, improving or staying about the same). The polls found pretty consistently that a plurality, often in the area of 45 percent, said their finances were getting worse, followed by those who said they were about the same with those who saw improvement constituting the smallest group.
Alabama

SurveyUSA, Dec. 11-13
2008 election: McCain 60 percent, Obama 38 percent

SurveyUSA says 61 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 35 percent approve, with 4 percent undecided. Independents, who make up 23 percent of the sample, disapprove by 75 percent to 21 percent. Obama's support among fellow Democrats is only 63 percent. White voters (73 percent of the sample) disapprove by 75 percent to 21 percent while black voters (24 percent of the sample) approve by 81 percent to 18 percent. This is little changed from polls done in November and September.
Alaska
2008 election: McCain 59 percent, Obama 38 percent
PPP says 56 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 37 percent approve, with 8 percent undecided.
Arizona
Rasmussen Reports, Jan. 20; Arizona State University/KAET, Nov. 19-22

2008 election: McCain 53 percent, Obama 45 percent
Rasmussen says 57 percent disapprove of Obama's performance while 43 percent approve. Fifty-nine percent oppose the health care reform proposal he and congressional Democrats are pushing (with 53 percent strongly opposed) while 38 percent favor it. Forty-two percent believe the economy is getting worse, 29 percent say it is improving and 25 percent say it's about the same.

Arizona voters split at 48 percent each on whether they approve or disapprove of the job Obama is doing, with 4 percent expressing no opinion. They believe by 45 percent to 40 percent that he should send more troops to Afghanistan. Fifteen percent expressed no opinion.
Arkansas
2008 election: McCain 59 percent, Obama 39 percent
Rasmussen says that 66 percent disapprove of the way Obama is doing his job (with 59 percent "strongly" disapproving) while 33 percent approve. Fifty-six percent say their personal finances are getting worse, 31 percent say they are about the same and 11 percent say they are better.
PPP says 58 percent disapprove of Obama's performance while 38 percent approve, with 5 percent undecided. Sixty-one percent oppose the health care proposals he is advocating while 30 percent support them, with 9 percent undecided. Independents (32 percent of the sample) disapprove of Obama's performance by a 68 percent to 28 percent margin and they oppose the health care reform legislation by 72 percent to 20 percent.
California
2008 election: Obama 61 percent, McCain 37 percent
PPIC says 61 percent approve of the job Obama is doing while 34 percent disapprove, with 5 percent undecided. Fifty-six percent believe that Obama and the Congress will be able to work together and accomplish a lot in the next year while 38 percent do not, with 6 percent undecided. About two-third of Democrats believe that compared to a third of Republicans.
SurveyUSA says 55 percent of Californians approve of the job Obama is doing while 41 percent disapprove, with 4 percent undecided.
Colorado
2008 election: Obama 54 percent, McCain 45 percent
Rasmussen says 53 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing (with 45 percent "strongly" disapproving) while 47 percent approve. Forty-four percent say their personal finances are getting worse, 29 percent rate them about the same and 23 percent say they are getting better.
Research 2000 says 47 percent view Obama unfavorably, 46 percent regard him favorably and 7 percent are undecided.
Connecticut
2008 election: Obama 60 percent, McCain 38 percent
Rasmussen says 51 percent approve of Obama's performance while 49 percent disapprove. Forty-five percent say their personal finances are getting worse, 37 percent say they are about the same and 16 percent say they are getting better.
Research 2000 says 63 percent view Obama favorably while 30 percent see him unfavorably, with 7 percent undecided.
Quinnipiac says 55 percent approve of the job Obama is doing while 41 percent disapprove, but notes that it is his lowest ever in the state.
PPP says voters approve of Obama's performance by 54 percent to 38 percent with 8 percent undecided. They support the health care overhaul he is advocating by 47 percent to 43 percent with 10 percent undecided, with the poll's 4.3 point margin of error.

Delaware
Public Policy Polling, Nov. 30 - Dec. 2; Daily Kos/Research 2000, Oct. 12-14

2008 election: Obama 62 percent, McCain 37 percent
PPP says 53 percent approve of Obama's job performance while 41 percent disapprove, with 6 percent undecided.
Research 2000 says Obama is viewed favorably by 64 percent and unfavorably by 32 percent with 4 percent expressing no opinion. Independents view him favorably by 69 percent to 25 percent with 6 percent having no opinion.
Florida
2008 election: Obama 51 percent, McCain 48 percent
Rasmussen says 58 percent disapprove of Obama's job performance (with 47 percent "strongly" disapproving) while 42 percent approve. Forty-eight percent say economic conditions are getting worse in the country, 25 percent say they are improving and 22 percent say they are about the same.
Quinnipiac says 49 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 45 percent approve, with 6 percent undecided. In October, 48 percent approved and 46 percent disapproved -- essentially a tie, given the margin of error. Back in June, 58 percent approved of Obama's performance and 35 percent disapproved.
Georgia
2008 election: McCain 52 percent, Obama 47 percent
Rasmussen says that 55 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 34 percent approve. Fifty-eight percent oppose the health care reform plan advocated by Obama and congressional Democrats (with 50 percent "strongly" opposing it) while 40 percent back it. Forty-two percent believe economic conditions in the country are getting worse, 23 percent say they are about the same and 30 percent believe they are getting better.
Idaho
2008 election: McCain 61 percent, Obama 36 percent
Smith says 54 percent view Obama unfavorably while 35 percent see him favorably, with 10 percent undecided. Last June, 47 percent saw him unfavorably and 46 percent favorably, with 7 percent undecided.
Illinois
2008 election: Obama 62 percent, McCain 37 percent
Rasmussen says 54 percent approve of Obama's performance while 45 percent disapprove. Forty-two percent say their personal finances are getting worse, 33 percent rate them about the same and 20 percent say they are better.
Indiana
Rasmussen Reports, Jan. 21 & 24
2008 election: Obama 49.8 percent, McCain 48.8 percent
Rasmussen says 56 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 43 percent approve. Sixty percent oppose the health care plan advocated by Obama and congressional Democrats (with 48 percent "strongly" opposing) while 37 percent favor it. Forty-three percent say economic conditions are getting worse 27 percent believe they are improving and 24 percent say they are about the same.

Iowa
Rasmussen Reports, Jan. 26

2008 election: Obama 54 percent, McCain 44 percent
Rasmussen says that 54 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 44 percent approve. Forty-one percent say they "strongly" disapprove. Forty percent believe the economy is getting worse, 28 percent say better and 26 percent that it is staying the same.
Kansas

SurveyUSA, Dec. 11-13
2008 election: McCain 56 percent, Obama 41 percent

SurveyUSA says 59 percent disapprove of Obama's performance while 36 percent approve, with 5 percent undecided. Obama's approval rating among fellow Democrats is only 66 percent. But unlike other states where his approval is in negative territory, disapproval among independents is not as high, with 47 percent giving him negative marks and 42 percent positive ones, with 10 percent undecided. This is little changed from last month.
Kentucky
Rasmussen Reports, Feb. 2; Public Policy Polling, Dec. 18-21; SurveyUSA, Dec. 11-13

2008 election: McCain 57 percent, Obama 41 percent
Rasmussen says 57 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 42 percent approve. Forty-two percent say their personal finances are getting worse, 35 percent say they are about the same and 20 percent say they are getting better.
PPP says 59 percent of voters disapprove of Obama's performance compared to 35 percent who approve, with 6 percent undecided. Obama gets only a 57 percent approval rating from fellow Democrats; independents (11 percent of the sample) disapprove of Obama by 67 percent to 23 percent. Sixty-two percent oppose the health care reform legislation advocated by Obama while 28 percent support it, with 10 percent undecided. Democrats in the state back the reform proposal by a bare 46 percent to 41 percent margin, with 13 percent undecided. Independents oppose it 69 percent to 19 percent with 12 percent undecided.
SurveyUSA finds 58 percent disapproving of the job Obama is doing while 38 percent approve, with 4 percent undecided. Only 60 percent of fellow Democrats voice approval of his performance. Independents disapprove of the job he is doing by a 62 percent to 32 percent margin. This is little changed since last month.
Maine
2008 election: Obama 58 percent, McCain 40 percent
Daily Kos/Research 2000 says 67 percent of voters view Obama favorably compared to 25 percent who see him unfavorably with 8 percent undecided. Independents see him favorably by 73 percent to 18 percent.
Public Policy Polling says voters approve of Obama's job performance by 49 percent to 41 percent with 10 percent undecided. They are split on his health care reform proposal with 41 percent favoring it, 40 percent opposed and 19 percent undecided.
Maryland
2008 election: Obama 62 percent, McCain 36 percent
Gonzales says 56 percent of voters approve of Obama's job performance while 30 percent disapprove, with 14 percent undecided. That's a slight drop since September.
Massachusetts
2008 election: Obama 62 percent, McCain 36 percent
PPP says 44 percent approved of Obama's job performance, 43 percent disapproved and 13 percent were undecided. Forty-eight percent opposed his health care plan, 40 percent supported it and 12 percent were undecided. Seventy-one percent of Democrats approved of Obama's performance, a relatively low figure for such a Democratic stronghold. Independents disapproved of Obama by a 52 to 33 percent margin.
Rasmussen says that 57 percent of voters approve of the job Obama is doing while 41 percent do not. Fifty-two percent back the health care reform plan being pushed by Obama and congressional Democrats while 46 percent oppose it. Sixty-five percent say the would-be bomber who tried to set off explosives on a U.S. airliner Christmas Day should be tried by a military tribunal and not in a civilian criminal court as the Obama administration has decided.
Michigan
Rasmussen Reports, Dec. 16; Epic-MRA, Oct. 11-15
2008 election results: Obama 57 percent, McCain 41 percent
Rasmussen says 50 percent of voters disapprove of Obama's performance compared to 48 percent who approve. Forty-eight percent oppose the health care reform proposal he and congressional Democrats are pushing while 47 percent favor it, with 5 percent undecided. Thirty-six percent oppose Obama's strategy for Afghanistan, 32 percent support it with 31 percent undecided. On its specific components, 50 percent back sending more troops to Afghanistan while 34 percent are against doing so, with 16 percent undecided. Forty-four percent support Obama's decision to set a timetable to begin withdrawal in 2011, 42 percent oppose it and 14 percent are undecided.
EPIC-MRA says Obama is seen favorably by 51 percent and unfavorably by 45 percent with 4 percent undecided. In June, this poll reported that 60 percent regarded Obama favorably and 34 percent unfavorably.
Minnesota

St. Cloud State University, Oct. 26 - Nov. 4

2008 election: Obama 54 percent, McCain 44 percent

Fifty percent say Obama is doing an excellent or good job, 22 percent rate him only as fair, and 25 percent as poor.

Missouri
Rasmussen Reports, Jan. 19; SurveyUSA, Dec. 11-13
2008 election: McCain 49.3 percent, Obama 49.2 percent
Rasmussen says that 58 percent disapprove of Obama's job performance (with 46 percent "strongly" disapproving) while 41 percent approve. Sixty-two percent oppose the health care reform plan that Obama and congressional Democrats had been pushing while 37 percent favored it. Of those, 50 percent are in the "strongly" oppose category. Forty-nine percent say economic conditions in the country are getting worse, 22 percent say they are remaining the same and 26 percent believe they are improving.

SurveyUSA says Missourians disapprove of Obama's performance by a 52 percent to 45 percent margin, with 3 percent undecided. Independents disapprove by 52 percent to 46 percent. This is an improvement for Obama over SurveyUSA's poll last month when 58 percent disapproved while 38 percent approved.
Nebraska
2008 election: McCain 57 percent, Obama 42 percent
Rasmussen says 61 percent of Nebraskans disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 38 percent approve. Of those, 47 percent are in the "strongly" disapprove category. Sixty-four percent propose the health care overhaul advocated by Obama and congressional Democrats (with 53 percent of those opposing it "strongly") while 35 percent back it. Forty-two percent say Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, who provided the crucial vote in the Senate on the health care reform bill, is too supportive of Obama's agenda. Thirty percent say his support of Obama is about right and 13 percent consider him too opposed.
Nevada
2008 election: Obama 55 percent, McCain 43 percent
Rasmussen says 50 percent of voters disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 49 percent approve. They oppose the health care plan advocated by Obama and congressional Democrats by 54 percent to 39 percent with 7 percent undecided. Forty percent rate Obama's handling of Afghanistan as good or excellent, 31 percent call it fair and 29 percent say it is poor.
Research 2000 says 50 percent see Obama unfavorably while 45 percent regard him favorably. Independents (17 percent of the sample) see him unfavorably by a 54 percent to 43 percent margin.
PPP says 52 percent of voters disapprove of Obama's performance while 44 percent approve, with 4 percent undecided. Fifty-four percent oppose the health reform plan Obama is backing while 36 percent support it, with 10 percent undecided.
New Hampshire
2008 election: Obama 54 percent, McCain 44 percent
Research 2000 says 55 percent see Obama favorably while 38 percent regard him unfavorably, with 7 percent undecided.
Rasmussen says 52 percent of voters approve of the job Obama is doing while 47 percent do not. Independents disapprove of Obama's performance by a 61 percent to 35 percent margin. Fifty-two percent oppose the health care reform overhaul that he and congressional Democrats are backing while 46 percent favor it. Those who "strongly" oppose the legislation outnumber those who strongly favor it by 2-to-1. Forty percent say Obama is doing a good or excellent job handling the situation in Afghanistan, 34 percent say he is doing a fair job and 24 percent say he is doing a poor job.
New Jersey
Fairleigh Dickinson University, Oct. 22 - Nov. 1; Public Policy Polling, Oct. 31 - Nov. 1; Rasmussen Reports, Oct. 29; Quinnipiac, Oct. 20-26
2008 election: Obama 57 percent, McCain 41 percent
Fifty-three percent approve of the job Obama is doing compared to 37 percent who don't with 10 percent undecided, according to Fairleigh Dickinson.
Public Policy Polling has voters divided at 45 percent each on whether or not they approve of Obama's performance with 10 percent undecided.
Rasmussen says 55 percent approve of Obama's performance and 44 percent disapprove with 1 percent undecided.
Quinnipiac says voters approve of the job Obama is doing by 55 percent to 39 percent with 6 percent undecided. The New York Times says Obama is viewed favorably by 62 percent and unfavorably by 25 percent with 12 percent not expressing an opinion.
New Mexico

SurveyUSA, Sept. 27-28

2008 election: Obama 57 percent, McCain 42 percent

Fifty percent approve of Obama's performance compared to 45 percent who do not with 4 percent undecided. The margin of error is 4.1 points. Whites disapprove by 59 percent to 38 percent while Hispanics, 39 percent of the sample, approve by 68 percent to 29 percent.

New York

Quinnipiac University, Jan. 27- Feb.1; Rasmussen Reports, Jan. 18; Marist Institute, Jan. 13-14

2008 election: Obama 63 percent, McCain 36 percent

Quinnipiac says 57 percent approve of the way Obama is doing his job and 38 percent disapprove, with 5 percent undecided. It's a slight drop from December, but it represents a steady decline since February when his approval rating stood at 72 percent. His margin of approval rating among independents was lower at 51 percent to 43 percent.

Rasmussen says 56 percent approve of the job Obama is doing while 43 percent disapprove.

Marist says 56 percent believe Obama is doing a good or excellent job, 22 percent grade it as fair and 21 percent as poor.

North Carolina

2008 election: Obama 49.7 percent, McCain 49.4 percent
Rasmussen says that 52 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 48 percent approve. Forty-six percent believe the economy is getting worse, 26 percent that it is getting better and 19 percent that it is staying the same.
PPP says Obama's job approval rating here is the lowest since he took office, with 50 percent disapproving, 44 percent approving and 6 percent undecided. Fifty-three percent oppose Obama on health care reform while 38 percent support him, with 8 percent undecided. The decline is driven mostly by independents (17 percent of the sample) who disapprove of his performance by 61 percent to 33 percent compared to a month ago when 44 percent approved of what he was doing.
North Dakota
2008 election results: McCain 53 percent, Obama 44 percent
Research 2000 says Obama is seen unfavorably by 54 percent and favorably by 41 percent, with 5 percent undecided. Independents (32 percent of the sample) see him unfavorably by a 59 percent to 37 percent margin.
Rasmussen says 58 percent of voters disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 41 percent approve.
Ohio
2008 election: Obama 51 percent, McCain 47 percent
Rasmussen says 54 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 46 percent approve. Fifty-six percent oppose the health care overhaul and Obama and congressional Democrats are pushing while 39 percent support it. Of those against it, 49 percent say they are "strongly" opposed. Forty percent rate Obama's handling of Afghanistan as good or excellent, 26 percent as fair and 32 percent as poor.
The big news in the Quinnipiac poll was that for the first time more Ohio voters disapproved of Obama's job performance than approved, with 50 percent giving him negative marks compared to 45 percent who viewed him positively with 5 percent undecided. Obama's approval had been in the 60s from February through May, dipped to 49 percent in July and stood at 53 percent approving and 42 percent disapproving in September. And, for the first time, when asked who voters trusted more on handling health care, congressional Republicans tied Obama at 40 percent with 21 percent undecided. In September, respondents favored Obama by 49 percent to 28 percent. Voters oppose Obama's health care plan by 55 percent to 36 percent with 9 percent undecided and disapprove of his handling of the issue by a similar margin. They disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy by 53 percent to 42 percent with 5 percent undecided, compared to 48 percent who approved and 46 percent who disapproved in September.
Oklahoma
Tulsa World, Jan. 2-5
2008 election: McCain 66 percent, Obama 34 percent
The Tulsa World poll says 58 percent of voters disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 36 percent approve and 6 percent are undecided.
Oregon

SurveyUSA, Dec. 11-13
2008 election: Obama 57 percent, McCain 40 percent

SurveyUSA says 50 percent approve of Obama's performance while 47 percent don't, with 3 percent undecided. The margin of error is 4.1 points. Independents are split, with 49 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving. Last month, Oregonians were split at 47 percent each.
South Carolina
2008 election: McCain 54 percent, Obama 45 percent
PPP says 49 percent disapprove of Obama's job performance while 46 percent approve, with 5 percent undecided.

Pennsylvania

Franklin & Marshall College, Jan. 18-24; Rasmussen Reports, Jan. 18
2008 election: Obama 54 percent, McCain 44 percent
F & M says voters split at 44 percent each on whether they see Obama favorably or not, with 10 percent undecided and 2 percent saying they don't know. The biggest segment, at 33 percent, are those who regard Obama very unfavorably. In October, 45 percent said they saw Obama favorably, 39 percent saw him unfavorably and 13 percent were undecided.
Rasmussen says 53 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 46 percent approve. Fifty-seven percent oppose the health care reform plan advocated by Obama and congressional Democrats (with 47 percent "strongly" opposing it) while 41 percent support it. Forty-two percent believe economic conditions are getting worse, 21 percent say they are about the same and 31 percent believe they are improving.
South Dakota
2008 election results: McCain 53 percent, Obama 45 percent
PPP says 52 percent disapprove of the job Obama is doing while 41 percent approve, with 8 percent undecided.
Texas
2008 election: McCain 55 percent, Obama 44 percent
Rasmussen says 58 percent disapprove of Obama's performance (with 48 percent "strongly" disapproving) while 41 percent approve.
Utah
2008 election: McCain 62 percent, Obama 34 percent
Sixty percent disapprove of Obama's job performance while 38 percent approve.
Virginia
2008 election: Obama 53 percent, McCain 46 percent
SurveyUSA, Dec. 11-13; Public Policy Polling, Oct. 31- Nov.1; Suffolk University, Oct. 26-28; Roanoke College, Oct. 21-27; Rasmussen Reports, Oct. 27; Virginia Commonwealth University, Oct. 21-25
SurveyUSA says 54 percent disapprove of Obama's performance while 44 percent approve, with 2 percent undecided. Sixty-eight percent of whites (72 percent of the sample) disapprove while 88 percent of blacks (18 percent of the sample) approve. Independents disapprove by a 63 percent to 35 percent margin.
Last month, 60 percent disapproved and 37 percent approved.
Public Policy Polling says Virginians disapprove of Obama's performance by 52 percent to 41 percent with 6 percent undecided.
Suffolk says 50 percent approve of Obama's performance, 42 percent disapprove and 8 percent are undecided.
Roanoke says 46 percent disapprove of Obama's job performance, 45 percent approve and 10 percent give him mixed marks.
Rasmussen says 51 percent disapprove of Obama's job performance while 49 percent approve and 1 percent is undecided.
VCU says 49 percent rate Obama's performance excellent or good while 48 percent say it is fair or poor with 3 percent undecided.

Washington State

SurveyUSA, Dec. 11-13
2008 election: Obama 57 percent, McCain 40 percent

SurveyUSA says 50 percent approve of Obama's performance while 46 percent don't, with 4 percent undecided. The margin of error is 4.1 points. Independents disapprove by a 54 percent to 40 percent margin. Last month, Washingtonians were split at 48 percent each.

Wisconsin

2008 election: Obama 56 percent, McCain 42 percent
Rasmussen says 54 percent of voters disapprove of Obama's performance while 46 percent approve. Of these, 46 percent say they "strongly" disapprove. Forty-one percent believe the economy is getting worse, 28 percent say it's improving and 24 percent believe it is staying about the same.

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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Economy, Health Care, Polls, Obama Administration, Poll Watch
Tagged: dailyguidance
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