Raleigh, N.C. – 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 PPP 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% 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. Yesterday’s 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% of voters want same-sex marriage to be legal. 40% 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. 77% support gay couples having some sort of legal recognition, with 40% still supporting full marriage, and 37% favoring civil unions. That sentiment is shared by 90% of Democrats, 77% of independents, and even 59% of Republicans.
PPP surveyed 568 Hawaii voters from October 13th to 16th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.1%. 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 are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Neil
Abercrombie’s job performance?
Approve…………….. 30%
Disapprove………… 56%
Not sure ……………. 14%
Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator
Daniel Inouye’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .62%
Disapprove…………. .23%
Not sure …………….. .14%
Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator
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%
