Politics

Gov. Whitmer’s Approval Rating Drops 17% In Eight Months, Data Shows

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Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s approval rating for her handling of the coronavirus has plummeted 17% over eight months, new data shows.

Researchers from Harvard, Northeastern, Northwestern and Rutgers have released a new report as part of their ongoing “The Covid States Project” which surveys residents about their governor’s handling of the pandemic.

People in each state were surveyed about their approval of their governors, with data showing the average governor has seen a slight drop in approval since October.

Whitmer’s approval rating saw a massive decline, however. It was at an all time high in late June with a 69% approval rating, according to the data. Her rating quickly began to decline over the following months. As of February, her approval rating stood at 52%, a 17% drop, data showed.

“Gov. Whitmer’s incoherent and incompetent pandemic response has destroyed small businesses, kept kids from a proper education, and ruined entire livelihoods,” Communications Director of the Michigan Republican Party Ted Goodman said in a statement obtained by the Daily Caller. “More and more Michiganders are realizing the true damage of Whitmer’s hypocrisy and poor leadership, which is why her approval rating is in a tailspin.”

Michigan had some of the toughest lockdown restrictions, with Whitmer issuing a stay-at-home order that ordered residents to stay home until May 1, banning all public and private gatherings of any size, according to The Hill(RELATED: Small Business Owner Launches Bid Against Whitmer, Says She’s Responsible For ‘People Losing Their Livelihoods’)

As part of her lockdown restrictions, Whitmer also deemed items like fruit and vegetable seeds as “non-essential” and forbid the items from being sold.

Whitmer’s lockdown restrictions spurred massive protests statewide along with several lawsuits.

The governors of Maryland (65%), Massachusetts (59%) , New Hampshire (61%), Ohio (57%) and Vermont (71%) all have Republican governors and have higher support in approval from Democrats than Republicans. The aforementioned Republican governors also have some of the highest approval ratings, with Democratic Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont coming in close competition with the aforementioned governors with an approval rating of 61%, according to the data.

Governors from Iowa (32%), Arizona (32%), Missouri (33%), Idaho (33%), Mississippi (34%), Georgia (35%) and Florida (35%), however, had the lowest approval ratings, with all governors being Republican.

Researchers said Democratic respondents have given an increased approval rating of their governors, “especially Republican governors” since the election and that Republican respondents “have generally decreased their approval of all governors, especially Democratic governors.”