BY PUBLIC POLICY POLLING – Move over, John Kasich. Step aside, Rick Scott. Take a hike, Scott Walker. There is a new least popular governor in town, and he is a Democrat from one of the bluest states in the country, Hawaii.
Neil Abercrombie’s net approval rating has plummeted 33 points since Public Policy Polling last polled the state in March, when he had a decent 48-41 spread. That is now 30-56, nine points worse than the previous most hated governor on which PPP has polled this year, Ohio’s Kasich.
Abercrombie has slid across the board, but the costliest decline for him has been with his own party, which makes up almost half the state’s voters.
He has fallen 39 points with Democrats, from 66-23 to only 43-39. He has also dropped 45 points with the sizeable 27 percent who claim to be independents, from breaking even at 45-44 to in the basement at 21-65.
Needless to say, Republicans pretty handily disapprove, 13-80, slightly worse than March’s 16-75.
It has been a bad year for Hawaii politicans at all levels. The latest release showed native President Obama down 15 points since March.
Now soon-to-retire junior Sen. Daniel Akaka is down 10 points, from 55-35 to 48-38.
Even senior Sen. Daniel Inouye has suffered. His +39 (62-23) is down from +46 (69-23) in March, but that still puts him in a three-way tie for the second most popular of 87 senators on which PPP has polled. He had previously been the most popular overall.
Hawaii does not have full marriage rights for gay couples, but 49 percent of voters want same-sex marriage to be legal; 40 percent want it to remain illegal.
The sentiment in favor of legal equality grows tremendously, though, when civil unions are included as an option. Civil unions will be legal next year in Hawaii.
More than 75 percent support gay couples having some sort of legal recognition, with 40 percent still supporting full marriage, and 37 percent favoring civil unions. That sentiment is shared by 90 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of independents, and even 59 percent of Republicans.
PPP surveyed 568 Hawaii voters Oct. 13-16. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.1 percent.
This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Topline results:
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s job performance?
- Approve…………….. 30%
- Disapprove………… 56%
- Not sure ……………. 14%
Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of Sen. Daniel Inouye’s job performance?
- Approve …………….. 62%
- Disapprove…………. 23%
- Not sure …………….. 14%
Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of Sen. Daniel Akaka’s job performance?
- Approve …………….. 48%
- Disapprove…………. 38%
- Not sure …………….. 14%
Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Colleen Hanabusa?
- Favorable……………………………………………….. 42%
- Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 36%
- Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Charles Djou?
- Favorable……………………………………………….. 42%
- Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 39%
- Not sure …………………………………………………. 19%
Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Duke Aiona?
- Favorable……………………………………………….. 42%
- Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 34%
- Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%
Q7 Do you think same-sex marriage should be legal or illegal?
- Legal……………………………………………………… 49%
- Illegal …………………………………………………….. 40%
- Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%
Q8 Which of the following best describes your opinion on gay marriage: gay couples should be allowed to legally marry, or gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not legally marry, or there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship?
- Gay couples should be allowed to legally marry …………………………………………………… 40%
- Gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not marry ………………………………… 37%
- There should be no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship ………………………………… 22%
- Not sure …………………………………………………. 1%
Q9 Would you describe yourself as very liberal, somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat conservative, or very conservative?
- Very liberal ……………………………………………… 14%
- Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 22%
- Moderate………………………………………………… 31%
- Somewhat conservative……………………………. 22%
- Very conservative ……………………………………. 10%
Q10 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
- Woman ………………………………………………….. 56%
- Man ………………………………………………………. 44%
Q11 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican, press 2. If you are an independent or identify with another party, press 3.
- Democrat ……………………………………………….. 49%
- Republican ……………………………………………… 24%
- Independent/Other …………………………………… 27%
Q12 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If Native Hawaiian, press 2. If Asian, press 3. If white, press 4. If other, press 5.
- Hispanic…………………………………………………. 8%
- Native Hawaiian………………………………………. 18%
- Asian……………………………………………………… 30%
- White …………………………………………………….. 37%
- Other……………………………………………………… 8%
Q13 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to 45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are older than 65, press 4.
- 18 to 29………………………………………………….. 10%
- 30 to 45………………………………………………….. 20%
- 46 to 65………………………………………………….. 49%
- Older than 65………………………………………….. 21%
— Find out more:
www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/hawaii
You might be interested in:
- Governor Abercrombie on the passage of the civil union bill
- Minority rights never advanced by popular vote
- Governor Abercrombie signs civil unions bill into law