Poll problems for Sen. Whitehouse in RI

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Rhode Island's junior Senator is facing low approval numbers, according to an exclusive WPRI-12 Poll released this week.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has a favorability rating of 33 percent, with an unfavorable rating mired at 57 percent. Ten percent of those polled weren't sure how they felt about Whitehouse. Five percent thought Whitehouse was doing an "excellent" job.

• See a breakdown of Whitehouse's poll numbers

The poll, conducted by Fleming & Associates for WPRI-12, sampled 500 registered voters across Rhode Island and has a 4.4 percent margin of error.

• See the poll specifications

The ever-important independent voters thought even less of Whitehouse with an approval rating of 27 percent.

"While Rhode Island is a very Democratic state, you still need those independent voters to get re-elected." said Eyewitness News analyst and pollster Joe Fleming. "He has problems all across the board at this point, but he has two years to rehab himself and change himself. Two years is an awful long time."

• Watch an extended interview with Joe Fleming

Fleming said Whitehouse's numbers could be feeling the side-effects of a caustic health care speech Whitehouse made on the Senate floor in December, potentially "offending" the voting public.

In contrast, Senator Jack Reed has weathered the political storm better. The poll showed Reed with a 54 percent favorable and 41 percent unfavorable rating. Fleming said the numbers are down for Reed, however, when compared to previous polls.

• See a breakdown of Reed's poll numbers

"People are angry and they are taking it out on everybody," Fleming said. "They don't care who you are, they just aren't giving you high ratings at this point."

Both Whitehouse and Reed declined to comment on the poll results, which revealed the national discontent was evident across the board in Rhode Island.

President Barack Obama - who swept the Ocean State with 63 percent of the vote in 2008 without so much as stepping foot in Rhode Island to campaign - dropped to a 51 percent favorability rating.

• See a breakdown of President Obama's poll numbers

His health plan fared even worse, just 38 percent of Rhode Islanders polled favored the plan, 50 percent opposed.

• See what Rhode Islanders think about health care reform

"This is an issue that six months ago we had a majority of people favoring," said Fleming. "It has really turned around in the last few months."

Rhode Islanders, who are grappling with a 12.9 percent unemployment rate , one of the worst in the nation, sent a strong message about what's important to them: 57 percent said economy/jobs is the most pressing issue. A distant second was health care at 14 percent.

• See a breakdown of the big issues

The poll was conducted by phone January 27 through January 31, 2010. Reflecting the political canvas of the state, 39 percent of those polled considered themselves Democrat, 17 percent Republican and 41 percent Independent. Of those polled, 26 percent were aged 18 to 39, 45 percent were aged 40 to 59, and 29 percent were 60 or older.