By Daniel Stefanski |
Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs just marked her 100th day in office, and a recent poll showed that she isn’t quite as popular in her state as other governors are in theirs.
A recently completed Morning Consult poll (conducted January 1 – March 31) highlighted America’s Most Popular and Unpopular Governors. Arizonans would have to scroll far down the list to find their governor’s name and numbers; Hobbs was third from the bottom.
Hobbs’ approval rating was below 50%, at 47%. Her disapproval number was at 36%.
Politicos and other onlookers took to Twitter Wednesday to debate the significance of the numbers for Hobbs. DJ Quinlan, the former Executive Director of the Arizona Democratic Party, pushed back against some negative characterizations of the governor’s numbers, writing, “Since when is +11% grim? The previous governor was regularly underwater. A fair reading is that a plurality of voters have a favorable impression, but a lot of voters have yet to form an opinion.”
Governor Hobbs’ initial tenure as the state’s chief executive has not been smooth, and her administration has had to deal with multiple missteps, including her decision to pull the nomination of her first appointee to serve as the Director of the Arizona Department of Child Safety, the lack of transparency over aspects of her Inaugural Fund, or the sudden resignation of her press secretary – among others. Hobbs has also clashed with Arizona legislators over many of their proposals or their perceptions of her unwillingness to negotiate with them over different policies.
Most recently, Hobbs vetoed HB 2509, which had attracted significant bipartisan support in both chambers of the state legislature, inciting outrage from all across Arizona. This action led Democrat Representative Alma Hernandez to tweet, “It’s not a veto to be proud of, and I know I am not the only one who feels this way.” Laurie Roberts, a columnist for the Arizona Republic, also slammed the governor’s decision, writing, “Give Hobbs credit. The governor, with veto No. 63, did manage to bridge the deep political divide in the Arizona Legislature. Most everybody is mad at her on this one.”
Daniel Scarpinato, a veteran of the Governor’s Office during the Doug Ducey era, told AZ Free News that “First impressions matter, and the new governor has a lot of ground to make up.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
