Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s popularity is on the upswing, with 48 percent of voters saying they approve of the job the governor’s doing and 39 percent saying they disapprove, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday, March 12. This is Malloy’s highest approval rating so far, the university pollsters said.
Still, only 42 percent of Connecticut voters think Malloy deserves to be re-elected, while 45 percent say he does not deserve four more years, the poll shows.
Last week Malloy’s approval rating was split among Connecticut voters, 43–43 percent, university pollsters said. In the latest survey by Quinnipiac, Democrats approve of Malloy 72–15 percent, Republicans disapprove of the governor 69–21 percent and independent voters narrowly approve of him 45–41 percent. Women approve of Malloy by a wider margin, 51–33 percent, while men are divided 45–46 percent.
However, when it comes to his leadership during times of crisis, voters in Connecticut have a much higher opinion of their governor.
Connecticut voters approve of Malloy’s response to the Newtown shootings 76–17 percent and they liked his handling of the historic February blizzard 80–14 percent. This comes on top of a 78–16 percent approval rating for Malloy’s handling of Hurricane Sandy last year.
On gun policy voters approve of his stand on the issue 48–39 percent, the Quinnipiac poll shows. Voters also support stricter gun-control laws in Connecticut, 66–29, with 70–27 percent saying they support a statewide ban on ammunition magazines with more than 10 rounds and 71–26 percent saying they support expanding the statewide ban on the sale of assault weapons.
However, a majority of them, 53-41 percent, don’t think politicians will be able to pass such legislation.
By a 49–27 percent margin, voters trust Democrats more than Republicans on gun policy, but remain divided, 48–47 percent, on whether the governor and lawmakers will be able to get something done to reduce gun violence this year.
“Connecticut voters by wide margins want action on gun-control, but they have less confidence that the state legislature will deliver on this issue,” Douglas Schwartz, director of the Quinnipiac University poll. “Voters trust Democrats more than Republicans on gun-control and overall they dislike Democrats less than they dislike Republicans.”
Malloy is a strong leader in a crisis, voters say 67–27 percent, but how voters view his handling of other issues is mixed:
- 57–33 percent disapprove of his handling of the state budget
- 45–39 percent approve of his handling of education
- 61–29 percent disapprove of his handling of taxes
- 56–35 percent disapprove of his handling of the economy
“Connecticut voters say Gov. Dannel Malloy is a good man to have in a crisis and give him very high grades for his response to recent crisis in the state,” Schwartz said “On the day-to-day issues of governing, such as budget, taxes and the economy, he gets failing grades.”
Democrats in the state legislature also got mixed grades from voters, with 44 percent of voters approving and 46 percent disapproving. Republicans fared worse, with 32–55 percent approval rating from voters.
On some of the major issues the state is dealing with right now Connecticut voters oppose, by 58–39 percent, putting tolls on highways in the state. But they told university pollsters, on margin of 57–40 percent, that they would support tolls if the proceeds from them are used to repair the state’s roads and bridges. And voters would support tolls 53–44 percent if the proceeds are used to reduce the state gas tax.
In other major issues:
- Voters are divided 44–45 percent on whether they support eliminating the local car tax.
- They oppose eliminating the tax 77–18 percent if it leads to higher property taxes.
- Voters oppose 65–31 percent allowing illegal immigrants to get drivers’ licenses.
