Things aren’t going well for Sarah Huckabee Sanders, as she has the lowest approval rating of any Arkansas governor in two decades.
According to the latter Arkansas Poll from the University of Arkansas:
Like every year, the poll asked for approval ratings for public figures. For first-year Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the poll reported an approval rating of 48%. While this was the lowest approval rating for an Arkansas governor in the past two decades, it compares favorably with the approval ratings for Senator Tom Cotton (42%), Senator John Boozman (40%) and President Joe Biden (33%). ).
Still, the vast majority of respondents said they were “very satisfied or satisfied” with state and local services such as police protection, public libraries, parks and recreation or colleges and universities. The only two areas where the “dissatisfied or very dissatisfied” rating approached or exceeded 50% were in the areas of primary and secondary public schools (47%) and the public welfare system (53%). These were also the two areas where dissatisfaction was highest 20 years ago, demonstrating the sustainability of that dissatisfaction over time.
So why is Huckabee Sanders struggling?
The answer, in part, could be Lectern Gate, which requires a $19,000 purchase and allegations that Sanders’ office illegally altered government documents. It’s a story that has plagued Sanders, captured national attention and hasn’t gone away.
Gov. Sanders has also made clear her ambitions for the White House as she has sought to define herself as the leader of the next generation of Republicans. Traditionally, overly ambitious first-year civil servants who have an eye on a higher position tend to encounter resistance from voters in their own country.
Huckabee Sanders wants to be president. She doesn’t hide it, but voters don’t seem very impressed with the work she’s doing in deep-red Arkansas.
If Sanders and other MAGAs like Tom Cotton fail to achieve an approval rating above 50% in a solidly red state, it should be seen as a sign that MAGA is headed for major failure in 2024 and beyond.
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Jason is the editor-in-chief. He is also a White House press pool and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Pricing and professional memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association