Quinnipiac University has new poll out that asked Virginians what they think of Terry McAuliffe’s first few months in the Executive Mansion. The verdict?
“Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s initial report card from Virginia voters is good, but not great. A plurality – but not a majority – approves of his early days in the governor’s mansion and for the most part he gets similar ratings when voters are asked about his personal characteristics. The exception is that a majority see him as a strong leader,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. “His support has the expected partisan skew – he does very well among Democrats, poorly among Republicans, while his 13-point margin among independent voters gets him his positive overall rating. His approval rating among women is only slightly better than his approval among men.”
“Virginians are optimistic about the future under their new governor, and a majority is satisfied with the way things are going in their state, better than the voter outlook in some other parts of the country,” Brown added.
So how you think Terry is doing depends on your partisan outlook. No surprise there. Nor is it really a surprise that so many poll respondents have no opinion on the man at all (27 percent). He’s still new, hasn’t really put his imprint on the place so, eh, we’ll get back to you on this one.
More interesting, given the number of press releases cluttering my email inbox on Medicaid expansion, is what issues those surveyed believe are most important.
Jobs (a perennial concern)…education (another evergreen) then “don’t know,” “other,” “healthcare” and, far down the list, “Medicaid,” which is tied with “taxes” at 4 percent on the list of priorities.
One could argue that the hullabaloo over Medicaid expansion, then, is so much noise to the general public…which may not even be aware that the General Assembly is in a special session, let alone know, or care, that both sides are holding the state budget hostage/in seclusion/under wraps/whatever.
Meh, indeed.
