Virginians haven’t been very kind to their governors over the past decade, but Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin appears to be winning them over — and at quite a pace.
The former businessman who edged aside former Gov. Terry McAuliffe with unexpected ease in last fall’s election has surged to a 55% approval rating in the just-released Roanoke College poll.
What’s more, Youngkin has a favorable/unfavorable rating of 51%-37%, which is also rare positive territory for a commonwealth governor.
“For the first time in our poll, a majority (51%) of Virginians have a favorable view of Governor Youngkin, while 37% continue to have an unfavorable view. Again, that increase comes mostly from Republican feelings, but his rating is up slightly among Democrats and independents as well,” read the survey analysis.
While only in office for eight months, a search of past surveys found that former Gov. Ralph Northam only once saw his approval rating over 53% and favorability over 48% during his four-year term. At about this stage of his four-year term in 2014, McAuliffe had a 48% job approval rating.
via joemiller