Raleigh, N.C. – After winning in a landslide in 2010, Rick Snyder’s star has fallen considerably. Though Snyder has improved his position a bit since his 33-50 approval rating in March, he remains quite unpopular with only a 38-50 rating. Snyder is a polarizing figure, rating 72-15 among Republicans, 10-80 among Democrats, and 40-46 among Independents. Much of Snyder’s gain is due to Republicans who were still unsure how they felt about the governor breaking in his favor. Snyder also benefits from an improvement with independents from his 32-44 rating with them in March. Snyder’s poor approval notwithstanding, ideologically, a 40% plurality of voters still think that Snyder is about right. This compares to 36% who think he is too conservative and 14% who think he is too liberal.
While Snyder is unpopular, Michigan voters are not yet convinced his performance warrants a recall. 42% are in support of a recall while 47% remain opposed. However, support for recall has gained from 38-49 in March. Republicans are more unified in their opposition to a recall, 11-82, than Democrats are in their support, 71-18. In addition, though independents don’t like Snyder, their support for a recall rates only 35-50. However, this is an increase in support among independents from their 30-55 spread in March.
As for a do-over with Snyder’s 2010 opponent, Virg Bernero, voters are split right down the middle, 45-45, similar to Bernero’s 47-45 edge in March. Democrats strongly support Bernero 79-13 while Republicans support Snyder by an even wider 83-11 margin. Snyder manages to tie Bernero despite his poor approval ratings thanks to a 50-33 lead with independents.
“As is true for many new Republican governors, voters have soured on Rick Snyder,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling, “Nevertheless, it will still be an uphill fight to recall the governor.”
PPP surveyed 593 Michigan voters from July 21th to 24th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4%. 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
Rick Snyder’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 38%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 50%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%
Q2 Would you support or oppose recalling Rick
Snyder from office before his term is up?
Support ………………………………………………….. 42%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%
Q3 If you could do last year’s election for Governor
over again, would you vote for Republican Rick
Snyder or Democrat Virg Bernero?
Rick Snyder ……………………………………………. 45%
Virg Bernero……………………………………………. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%
Q4 Do you think Rick Snyder is too liberal, too
conservative, or about right?
Too liberal ………………………………………………. 14%
Too conservative……………………………………… 36%
About right ……………………………………………… 40%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%
Q5 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 42%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 53%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 4%
Q6 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 12%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 18%
Moderate………………………………………………… 30%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 26%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 14%
Q7 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%
Q8 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 ……………………………………………….. 40%
Republican……………………………………………… 30%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 30%
Q9 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 82%
African-American …………………………………….. 13%
Other……………………………………………………… 5%
Q10 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………………………………………………….. 46%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 24%
