Raleigh, N.C. – Patty Murray narrowly defeated Dino Rossi for re-election last fall. Just before the election, PPP found that only 44% of the likely voters in that election approved of her performance in office, while 51% disapproved. Half a year later, she has rebounded significantly in voters’ eyes, sporting a 50-42 approval-disapproval margin, a 15-point swing from last fall. This puts her at not quite as good a standing as her junior colleague Maria Cantwell’s 50-36, but still at just below the median among the 80 sitting senators on which PPP has polled since the beginning of 2010.
Along with a change in the composition of the electorate that favors her party, Republicans and independents are far less hostile to Murray now than last October. Democrats are, as then, almost unanimously behind Murray, and more Republicans now approve of the work she is doing (13%) than Democrats disapprove (7%). Independents have also moved from 38-56 to only 42-47 in disapproval.
Murray’s 2010 opponent, Dino Rossi, may have finally ended his days as a statewide candidate. Last week’s release showed that, with a 13-point deficit, he would be the most serious challenger to Maria Cantwell’s re-election based on name recognition. But 58% of Washington voters do not want him to run for office again, while only 32% do. Only a third of independents and less than two-thirds of Republicans think he should.
Washingtonians are not any more favorable to the idea of current Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich setting up shop in the state’s new congressional district in the event he is redistricted out of his. Only 12% think Kucinich should run for office in Washington next year, while 39% think he should not. Perhaps because most voters (53%) are not familiar with him, independents (8-46) are even more against the idea than Republicans (6-38), but even Democrats (22-35) are not very high on the idea of Kucinich moving to the state and running for office.
PPP surveyed 1,098 Washington voters from May 12th to 15th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.0%. 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 Senator Patty
Murray’s job performance?
Approve…………….. 50%
Disapprove………… 42%
Not sure ……………. 8%
Q2 Do you think Dino Rossi should run for office
again in the future or not?
Rossi should run for office again in the future. 32%
He should not………………………………………….. 58%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%
Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Dennis Kucinich?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 19%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 28%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 53%
Q4 Do you think Dennis Kucinich should run for
office in Washington next year or not?
Kucinich should run for office in Washington .. 12%
He should not………………………………………….. 39%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 48%
Q5 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 46%
Illegal …………………………………………………….. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%
Q6 Do you support or oppose President Obama’s
health care plan?
Support ………………………………………………….. 46%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 7%
Q7 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 39%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 53%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 8%
Q8 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 22%
Moderate………………………………………………… 30%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 21%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 16%
Q9 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%
Q10 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 ……………………………………………….. 39%
Republican……………………………………………… 30%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 31%
Q11 If you are white, press 1. If other, press 2.
White …………………………………………………….. 87%
Other……………………………………………………… 13%
Q12 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………………………………………………….. 24%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 46%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
