In December, Governor-elect Bruce Rauner told voters “I ain’t going to be Mr. Popularity for a little while.”
That may be the first promise that he keeps.
A new poll of 908 Illinois voters taken by Chicago-based Ogden & Fry on February 11, after Rauner’s first 30 days in office, shows the governor’s approval rating at 43 percent.
The survey, commissioned by The Illinois Observer for its subscription e-newsletter, The Insider, reports that 29.7 percent of voters “strongly approve” and 13.4 percent “approve” of Rauner’s handling of his job so far. Meanwhile, 28.2 percent of voters disapprove, with 16.2 percent “strongly” disapproving.
“Bruce Rauner has had a very busy and aggressive first 30 days in office,” Ogden & Frey’s Tom Swiss wrote in the polling memo. “Tensions are running high in Springfield as he has started revealing some of his yet undisclosed positions. While the politicians don’t seem to like the change in status quo, 43% of voters either approve or strongly approve of his performance as Governor.”
The survey, which had a +/- 3.32 percent margin of error, tested a random sampling of voters who voted in at least one of the last three elections. In a poll leading up to the November 2014 election, Ogden & Fry correctly predicted Rauner’s five point win.
Given the low esteem in which the legislature and Congress are held, a 43 percent job approval is not bad.
But.
Tensions may be running high outside of Springfield, too.
Rauner’s 43% approval rating is down 9 points and disapproval up five points since a We Ask America January 14th poll that put Rauner’s approval at 52 percent and his disapproval 23 percent.
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