The Accidental Governor is unpopular even among Republicans

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Accidental Governor, Jan Brewer, has never lost a political race in more than a quarter century in politics. If she wants to keep her perfect record intact, she should retire. Who needs this? The Accidental Governor is unpopular even among Republicans and is vulnerable to challengers in the GOP primary should she choose to run one final race.

The AZ Policy Wonk blog at Arizona Capitol Times reports Poll: Brewer’s ratings slip among Arizona Republicans (excerpt):

Only 22 percent of the 800 people interviewed for the latest Rocky Mountain Poll (conducted Sept. 9-18 by the Behavior Research Center) said they approve of Brewer’s performance. That’s down from 24 percent approval in May when a similar poll was conducted.

At the same time, the percentage of voters who disapprove of her performance went up by two percent. Twenty-eight percent rated her performance as “poor,” compared to 26 percent in May.

Both of the figures above fall within the margin of error for the poll, so maybe they don’t mean much. And there is still the murky designation of “fair,” which 30 percent of voters used to rate Brewer (it was 32 percent in May).

But there is something that has changed significantly, and it could hurt Brewer in the primary unless the trend changes.

Republicans who took part in the latest poll were far more negative about her performance than they were four months ago. Now, 27 percent of GOP respondents said they disapprove of Brewer, compared to 18 percent who disapproved in May. That 9 percent difference is a big deal, whether or not the other numbers have meaning.

Likely voters in Maricopa County were the most critical toward the governor – 32 percent negative to 24 percent favorable. Her reviews are also slipped in Rural Arizona – 18 percent favorable to 24 percent negative.

As was mentioned above, Brewer’s ratings are dismal compared to her predecessors. A media release that was distributed along with the poll figures states, “Voter assessment of the Governor remain significantly lower than those of her two predecessors, Janet Napolitano and Jane Hull, clear evidence that her struggles with GOP lawmakers over taxes and the 2010 budget have had an enduring impact.”

To see the full results of this and other polls by the Behavior Research Center, go to www.brcpolls.com.

It appears that the Governor's last and only supporters are the editors of The Arizona Republic who continue to write love letter editorials to her. (How out of touch with reality are they?)

There is a large number of Republicans either running for or rumored to be running for governor in 2010. It is looking more and more like it could be a crowded clusterf#?k for the GOP nomination to replace this unelected and unpopular "Lame Duck" Accidental Governor.