A new Public Policy Polling survey in Missouri finds Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) leads challenger Josh Hawley (R), 45% to 44%. That may seem close, but the poll actually finds that Missouri’s political climate has changed drastically since it gave Donald Trump a 20 point victory in 2016.
Voters in the state are almost evenly divided now on Donald Trump, with 48% approving of him to 47% who disapprove. Only 28% of voters in the state want a Senator who is loyal to Donald Trump and wants to promote his agenda, to 64% who prefer someone that is independent and will put Missouri first.
Only 38% of voters think the best path forward on health care is to repeal the Affordable Care Act, while 54% would rather keep it in place and makes fixes to it as necessary. 61% of voters support it to only 27% who are opposed- that includes 74/17 support from Democrats, 63/23 from independents, and 45/42 even from GOP voters.
Americans Don’t Trust Trump On North Korea https://t.co/dq3I7kfbWM
— oneFive38 (@oneFive38) January 12, 2018
A new Atlanta Journal Constitution poll in Georgia finds President Trump’s approval rating at 37% to 59%.
A new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll shows that 55% of Americans (and 54% of independents) think President Trump’s mental fitness is a legitimate issue.
A new Gonzales Media and Research survey in Maryland shows Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) approval rating at about 71% among likely voters in 2018. He and the equally popular Charlie Baker up in Massachusetts will probably survive a blue wave in blue states. Ditching Trump made that possible. From Politico: “Trump’s rock-bottom ratings should be dragging Republican Gov. Charlie Baker to defeat in 2018. Instead, the opposite is occurring. Baker is not only more popular than any other politician in solidly Democratic Massachusetts, he’s the most popular governor in the nation. […]
“Baker’s unique talent has been his ability to get as much distance as possible from Trump without thoroughly disowning him and alienating his own party. He works with Trump when necessary, but more frequently speaks out against his policies. Baker was a vocal opponent to the Republican health care plan, which was poised to deliver a serious blow to funding for the state’s health care structure. He’s also spoken out against the travel ban and Trump’s immigration policy.”
Baker and Hogan are succeeding because their not backing Trump and essentially their not acting like Republicans either. It also shows that democracy and good government shines when one party does not hold both houses and the governorship. And as ever that goes for both parties.