Rauner Is The 6th Most Unpopular Governor In The U.S. In New Poll

By aaroncynic in News on May 12, 2016 7:47PM

Illinois governor Bruce Rauner last February in Chicago. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is the 6th most unpopular governor in the United States, according to a new poll by Morning Consult. The poll, first reported by Politico, was taken from 66,000 voters in all 50 states from January until May and found that 34 percent of Illinoisans approve of Rauner’s job as governor. That’s an 8 point drop from a similar poll by Morning Consult taken last year, where Rauner ranked as the 10th most unpopular governor.

Rauner was only beaten out by a handful of other governors, like Donald Trump’s main man, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and one of his professed ‘role models,’ Michigan Gov. Rick Synder, who ducked his responsibility by allowing Flint’s water supply to become poisoned with unhealthy levels of lead. He also managed to come in just one place ahead on the list of his other role model, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

As the state budget impasse wears on while he tries to force his ‘Turnaround’ agenda on Illinoisans at the expense of a ballooning backlog of bills and struggling social service providers, Rauner’s approval numbers have been sagging. A March Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll showed half the state disapproved of the governor.

Rauner however, doesn’t seem to let polls get him down. “Polls go up and down,” Rauner told the State Journal-Register in March after the Paul Simon Institute poll was released. “They’re all over the place. They’re not the basis of governing.”