Sherrill among nation’s most popular governors as Trump sinks in New Jersey, poll says

Gov. Mikie Sherrill is among the nation’s most popular governors, while President Donald Trump remains deeply unpopular in New Jersey and both of the state’s Democratic U.S. senators hold solid approval ratings, according to a new Morning Consult poll.

Sherrill has a 55%-30% approval rating, giving her a net approval of +25 during her first quarter in Morning Consult’s gubernatorial tracking.

That puts Sherrill in a four-way tie for 12th among the nation’s 50 governors and eighth among Democratic governors.  Only seven Democratic governors have a higher net approval rating.

Trump is underwater by 21 points in New Jersey, with 38% approving of his performance and 59% disapproving.  His net approval dropped two points since the first quarter of the year.

New Jersey is tied with Minnesota and Virginia for Trump’s 17th-worst net approval rating among the 50 states.  From the other direction, the state is tied for 32nd in presidential net approval. Trump is viewed favorably by New Jersey Republicans, where he has a +66 net rating, but is at -79 among Democrats and -39 among independents.

U.S. Senator Cory Booker, who is seeking re-election this year, has a 53%-33% approval rating and a +19 net approval, up three points since the first quarter.

That leaves Booker tied for 27th among the nation’s 100 senators and tied for 18th among Democratic senators.

U.S. Senator Andy Kim has a 49%-27% approval rating, with nearly one-quarter of voters offering no opinion.  His +22 net approval, up one point since last quarter, puts him tied for 20th among all senators and tied for 12th among Democrats.

Booker and Kim both receive positive marks from independents.  Booker is at +10 with unaffiliated voters, while Kim is at +14. Booker is at -35 among Republicans, compared with -22 for Kim.

Morning Consult included ratings from the Cook Political Report that classify Booker’s race as solidly Democratic and give New Jersey a Democratic partisan voting index of four points.

Several governors and senators with New Jersey ties also received positive ratings.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Red Bank native, has a 54%-37% approval rating and a +17 net approval.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who lived in Jersey City while working as an investment banker in Manhattan, has a 57%-35% rating, for a +22 net rating.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has a 54%-36% rating and a +18 net approval.  Gianforte lived in New Jersey while attending Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken and later resided in Beach Haven, Red Bank, and Little Silver while working at Bell Labs in Holmdel. His brother, Michael Gianforte, is a Brielle councilman and executive director of the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who grew up in Edison, has a 52%-35% approval rating and a +17 net approval.   Morrisey sought the Republican nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th district in 2000, finishing fourth in a primary field that included future State Sen. Tom Kean Jr.

Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, who grew up in West Orange, has a 51%-38% approval rating and a +14 net approval.

The rankings are based on net approval — the percentage approving minus the percentage disapproving — among registered voters surveyed from April 1 through June 30.  Morning Consult surveyed 9,572 New Jersey voters, with a one-point margin of error.

The poll also found that the economy is the top issue in every state, including New Jersey, with health care ranking second among Garden State voters.  New Jersey’s consumer sentiment index stood at 88, the same as Alaska, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Nationwide, Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott is the country’s most popular governor, with a +52 net approval rating. He is followed by Kelly Armstrong (R-North Dakota) at +50 and Mark Gordon (R-Wyoming) at +49.

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer is the highest-rated Democratic governor at +36.  Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is fifth overall at +33, followed by Josh Green of Hawaii and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania at +32.  Kemp is a Republican; Green and Shapiro are Democrats.

Josh Stein (D-North Carolina), Ned Lamont (D-Connecticut) and Maura Healey (D-Massachusetts) are tied at +28.  Andy Beshear (D-Kentucky) is next at +26, followed by Sherrill, Brad Little (R-Idaho), Laura Kelly (D-Kansas), and Bill Lee (R-Tennessee) at +25.

Rounding out the top 20 positions are Larry Rhoden (R-South Dakota) at +24, Kay Ivey (R-Alabama) at +23, Moore, and Gianforte of Montana.  Five governors share the 20th position at +17: Gretchen Whitmer (D-Michigan), Mike Kehoe (R-Missouri), Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-New Mexico), Spanberger and Morrisey.