Charlie Baker Is America's Most Popular Governor, Poll Finds
BOSTON (CBS) – There's no governor in the United States more popular than Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, according to a new poll.
The survey from Morning Consult released Tuesday puts Gov. Baker at a 71 percent approval rating among Bay State residents. Only 17 percent disapprove of the job Baker is doing, according to the poll.
"Even Ted Kennedy in his prime didn't get numbers like this," WBZ political analyst Jon Keller says.
Keller @ Large: Baker's Plans For The Future
The top 10 most popular governors are all Republicans. Three points behind Baker is Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, and Morning Consult describes both as "two canny dealmakers who have largely eschewed the national political scene and have been unsupportive of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans' efforts to repeal and replace significant parts of Obamacare."
Why else is Baker successful in blue Massachusetts? Keller says it's because he's "socially moderate, pro-choice, pro-gay rights, fiscally conservative but not too conservative, and really focused on being a nuts and bolts manager and serving as a balancing element to the Democratic majority on Beacon Hill."
The least popular governor is New Jersey's Chris Christie, with a disapproval rating of 69 percent.
Morning Consult says its poll involved more than 195,000 registered U.S. voters surveyed between April and July.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports:
