Despite a rough start to his presidency, President Donald Trump’s job approval rating in Idaho is about the same percentage as he got in the Nov. 2016 election, a new Idaho Politics Weekly survey shows.
And all the other major officeholders in the state actually are LESS popular than the controversial president.
What’s that about?
The new survey by Dan Jones & Associates finds that 56 percent of Idahoans “strongly” or “somewhat” approve of the job Trump is doing as president.
Forty-two percent disapprove of Trump, and 2 percent don’t know.
Last year Trump won Idaho with 59.2 percent of the vote. So he is not far off (and within the poll’s margin of error) of his actual vote count.
That means the president has not lost much support, if any, among Idahoans – even though by most measurable criteria Trump has had a rocky start to his presidency.
RealClear Politics national poll compilation has Trump with a 39.3 approval rating, with a 56.0 disapproval.
So the president is doing much better in Idaho than nationally – just about the opposite numbers.
The short of it?
Idahoans like Trump a lot more than the rest of the country.
Jones finds, again, that Idaho men like Trump more than do women.
His approval rating is 60 percent for men, just 53 percent for women; disapproval is 38 percent for men, but 45 percent for women.
Young Idahoans don’t like the president; he gets a 45-52 percent favorable over disapproval.
While those 50-59 years old like him, 61-37 percent.
Those with just a high school education like Trump, 65-32 percent.
While those with a college graduate degree, like a lawyer, doctor or accountant, disapprove of the president, 43 percent approve/52 percent disapprove.
The new survey’s job approval ratings on other major officeholders show none of them get above 50 percent.
Those are not good numbers. However, for each individual the “don’t know” percentages are rather large, considering how well-known one would think these men would be.
Like Trump, all are Republicans.
Jones finds:
-- Gov. Butch Otter, 48 percent approve of his job performance, 37 percent disapprove, with 14 percent don’t know.
Considering that Otter is a three-term governor – who is retiring next year -- one might think many Idahoans would view him more favorably.
And standing at 11 years in office, one would also wonder at the 14 percent of Idahoans who don’t even have an opinion of him.
Clearly, many Idahoans are not feeling very good about their elected officials these days.
Some other officeholders’ numbers:
-- U.S. Sen. Mike Crap, 47 percent approve, 34 percent disapprove, 19 percent don’t know.
-- U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, 42 percent approve, 32 percent disapprove, 26 percent don’t know. A fourth of the electorate having no opinion of you is high by any standard.
-- U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, 41 percent approve, 40 percent disapprove, 19 percent don’t know.
Labrador is running for governor, and these numbers – only in his own 1st District were voters sampled here -- can’t be good for him early in the statewide race.
-- U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, 48 percent approval among his 2nd District voters, with 35 percent unfavorable and 16 percent don’t know.
And here is an interesting result:
-- The GOP-controlled Idaho Legislature does better than any of the statewide or U.S House incumbents.
Jones finds that 50 percent of Idahoans approve of the job the Legislature is doing, 35 percent disapprove, and 15 percent don’t know.
The Legislature passed a food tax cut this year, which Otter vetoed. That could have something to do with both entities’ numbers.
Jones polled 604 voters from Aug. 23-30. The statewide survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
In the 1st District, 308 Idahoans were interviewed; the margin of error plus or minus 5.58 percent.
In the 2nd District, 296 adults were interviewed; the margin of error plus or minus 5.69 percent.