Rick Snyder: One Unpopular Nerd

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Public Policy Polling decided to see what Michiganders thought of the radical measures the ALEC Ducks passed last week.

They’re none too happy with it.

In addition to supporting unions 52-33 and opposing the so-called Right to Work law passed last week 41-51, Michiganders’ view of Rick Snyder has soured considerably.

ust last month when we took a first look at the 2014 landscape we talked about how much Rick Snyder had improved his popularity during his second year in office and how he led a generic Democrat for reelection by 6 points, even as Barack Obama won the state comfortably.

Last week he threw all that out the window.

We now find Snyder as one of the most unpopular Governors in the country. Only 38% of voters approve of him to 56% who disapprove. There are only 2 other sitting Governors we’ve polled on who have a worse net approval rating than Snyder’s -18. He’s dropped a net 28 points from our last poll on him, the weekend before the election, when he was at a +10 spread (47/37).

[snip]

Snyder trails every Democrat we tested against him in a hypothetical match up. He’s down 49/38 to 2010 opponent Virg Bernero, 47/39 to Congressman Gary Peters, 46/38 to State Senator Gretchen Whitmer, and 44/39 to former Congressman Mark Schauer. The Bernero numbers are what’s most striking there. Snyder defeated Bernero by 18 points in 2010, so Bernero’s 11 point advantage represents a 29 point reversal. The Democrats all lead Snyder despite having very little name recognition- only 44% of voters are familiar with Bernero, 36% with Peters, 28% with Schauer, and 27% with Whitmer.

And the Republican crazies in the legislature are even more unpopular.

The Republicans in the legislature are even more unpopular than Snyder after their spate of last minute legislation.

Only 31% of voters have a favorable opinion of them to 58% with an unfavorable one. Democrats lead the generic legislative ballot in the state by an amazing 56/32 margin, one of the most lopsided generic ballots we’ve ever seen in any state.

Which makes now the time to turn this radical agenda to an anvil on this party, even as they try to consolidate their power.

Unfortunately, PPP polled neither voters’ understanding about this legislation, measuring whether it has been influenced by Dick DeVos’ campaign to brand low wages as “freedom,” nor the gun bill, from which Snyder is (thankfully) backing away from.

So we don’t yet have a complete picture of how to best pile on this unpopular group of radicals.

But pile on we must.

Update: A number of hours after PPP released this poll, Snyder vetoed the guns-in-schools bill, citing concerns that schools could not opt out. While I’m sure that’s partly because of Newtown, I suspect he also noted his tumbling approval ratings.

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4 replies
  1. Arbusto says:

    It appears MI voters are as ignorant as the general US population on history and current events. How many of the GOP that voted for union busting and reducing women’s rights were up for reelection in ’12, or did they, like Snyder, hide their beliefs until the last minute.

  2. You Call This Democracy says:

    Michigan Effort Shows gop Sway in State Contests

    As repuke leaders in Washington grappled after the election with their failure to unseat President Obama, Dick DeVos, one of Michigan’s wealthiest men, began dialing up state lawmakers in Lansing.

    Although Mr. Obama won Michigan handily, repukes had kept control of the Legislature. A union-backed ballot measure to enshrine collective bargaining rights in the State Constitution was defeated, thanks to an aggressive campaign against it that was financed in part by $2 million of DeVos family money.

    The time had come, Mr. DeVos told repuke lawmakers, for the bold stroke they were considering: a law banning requirements that workers pay union dues or fees, in the state where the modern American labor movement was born. If the lawmakers later found themselves facing recalls or tough re-election fights, Mr. DeVos told them, he would be there to help.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/us/politics/republican-donors-make-gains-in-states.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

  3. Those With The Gold Rule says:

    Michigan business community got much of what it wanted in Governor Rick Snyder’s first 2 years

    Business groups and lobbyists are pretty happy campers these days.

    They have good reason — most of the legislative priorities set out by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and other business groups were accomplished during the 2011-2012 session, Governor Rick Snyder’s first two years in office.

    Getting rid of the Michigan Business Tax and Personal Property Tax were two big ones. And right to work, though not initially a priority, was also a significant win for the chamber and business community.

    “The legislative leaders came in two years ago with a mandate to do something about the unemployment rate and jobs in the state and in the past two years, they’ve delivered on that,” Jason Geer, Michigan Chamber of Commerce’s small business advocate said.

    The business community didn’t get everything they wanted, namely establishing a funding formula for road and infrastructure improvements and reforming the no-fault auto insurance system.

    http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/12/michigan_business_community_go.html

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