New poll: McKee has worst job approval in the US

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Democratic Gov. Dan McKee’s approval rating is trending downward and ranks last among all governors in the country, according to a newly released poll.

The survey, conducted by the website Morning Consult, found 43% of Rhode Island voters disapprove of McKee’s job performance, while only 38% approve. His favorability ranks last among all incumbent governors.

“Polls come and go,” McKee spokesperson Matt Sheaff said in a statement Tuesday. “The governor’s focused on doing the work.”

The governor’s numbers in the quarterly Morning Consult poll have dropped slightly since this spring, when 42% of voters approved and 40% disapproved. They’ve also dropped substantially since he first succeeded former Gov. Gina Raimondo in March 2021, when his approval rating totaled 60%, according to the survey.

The Morning Consult results are also in line with a June 27 poll released by The Boston Globe, which showed McKee’s favorability totaled about 40% among Rhode Island general election voters.

A 12 News/Roger Williams University poll of Democratic primary voters in May showed 45% said McKee was doing an excellent or good job as governor, while 44% said his performance had been just fair or poor and 12% didn’t know. The May poll excluded all Republican voters.

The Morning Consult poll results come at the same time McKee has started airing his first TV campaign ad, touting his accomplishments in office alongside his 94-year-old mother.

McKee is facing four Democratic challengers in the upcoming primary election, including former Secretary of State Matt Brown, former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, and community activist Luis Daniel Muñoz.

Businesswoman Ashley Kalus is the leading GOP candidate.

Elsewhere in the region, other New England governors earned far higher favorability rates than McKee in the Morning Consult poll, including Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (74%), Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (73%), New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (60%) Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (58%) and Maine Gov. Janet Mills (53%).

Scott, Baker and Sununu are Republicans; Lamont and Mills are Democrats.

Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook.