Poll: Majority of North Carolina Voters Disapprove of Gov. McCrory’s Job in Office
New polling by Public Policy Polling shows that Gov. McCrory's total approval rating has dropped 26 percent in five months.
The first polling results have been released since Republican North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed SB 353, an omnibus anti-choice bill that has the potential to close many of the abortion providers in the state, and the governor’s approval rating has taken a hit.
New polling by Public Policy Polling (PPP) puts the governor’s approval rating at just 39 percent, and for the first time in his term a majority of voters (51 percent) disapprove of his job in office. According to PPP, Gov. McCrory’s total approval rating has dropped 26 percent in five months. “McCrory’s signing of a controversial abortion bill and the way he’s handled it is responsible for a lot of his problems,” wrote PPP chief pollster Tom Jensen. “Just 27% of voters think he kept his campaign promise not to enact any further restrictions on abortion, [compared] to 50% who think he broke it.”
Soon after signing SB 353 into law, the governor brought a plate of cookies out to reproductive rights advocates who were protesting outside the governor’s mansion. Of those polled, 57 percent said it “was inappropriate for him to give protesters cookies instead of meeting with them,” and only 26 percent considered the move acceptable.
“Considering his behavior over the last few weeks, we were not surprised to see the poll this morning showing that the governor’s approval rating has plummeted,” Suzanne Buckley, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, said in a statement. “North Carolina voters recognize a broken promise when they see it, and the bottom line is that McCrory lied. Governor McCrory made a campaign promise not to support any more restrictions on abortion care, and then he signed SB 353, a law that contains a multitude of provisions that directly and indirectly restrict access to abortion care.”
“McCrory’s cookie debacle shows not only a lack of respect for his constituents, but an egregious level of condescension and disrespect for women,” Buckley continued. “He and his administration are out of touch with the values of North Carolina voters.”