Public Policy Polling: Arizona’s twin embarrassments take a hit to their approval numbers

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Senator Obstruction, Jon Kyl, has taken a hit to his approval numbers after telling a whopper of a lie about Planned Parenthood, and becoming the butt of unrelenting jokes by late-night comedy shows for his "not intended to be a factual statement" defense of his lie. This is how Kyl wil be remembered by history. Stephen Colbert's Top 10 Non-Factual Statements About Jon Kyl.

Senator McNasty, John McCain, remains unpopular after winning reelection over little-known under-funded opponents. His hypocritical flip-flopping on issues including his previous support for repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell during the lame-duck session in December has left an indelible mark. In the PPP poll, McNasty is the "third least liked sitting senator" after his BFF Joe Lieberman (CT), and John Ensign (NV), who resigned this week from the Senate to avoid an ethics committee hearing into his sexcapades with a staffer and paying extortion money to her family. (McNasty moves up to No.2 – woohoo!)

Here is the Public Polcy Polling summary. http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_AZ_0505.pdf:

Both Jon Kyl and John McCain have declined by 10 or 11 points on the margin, the former from a positive 47-40 to a negative 42-46 following his revelation that this will be his final term representing the state. This knocks Kyl down 27 pegs, from average to well below, among the senators on which PPP has polled.

Kyl has endured some bad press recently in relation to comments he made about Planned Parenthood. Most voters in the state disagree with him on the issue of stripping federal funding from that organization. Only 35% support defunding, compared to 51% who are opposed to that action. Kyl’s numbers have slipped in particular with Democrats and independents, both of which are voting groups strongly opposed to the effort to target Planned Parenthood.

McCain, already unpopular, has slid further from 40-49 to 34-53. That makes him the third least liked sitting senator among their constituents, in front of only the retiring John Ensign and Joe Lieberman. He has improved considerably with the GOP after a bruising primary battle last summer and his White House loss, but he is in the basement with everyone else.

PPP surveyed 623 Arizona voters from April 28th to May 1st. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.9%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.