Govs' Polls: Woe the Ex-Congressmen (UPDATED)

posted by Josh Goodman

SurveyUSA's newest approval rating polls reveal the secret to being a popular governor: Don't be a former member of Congress.

Ten (Correction) Nine current governors who once served in Congress average 46% approval and 47% disapproval in their home states. (The polls were conducted before an eleventh a tenth, New Jersey's Jon Corzine, took office.) If that doesn't sound too bad, consider that among the other 40 41 governors the average is 56%-37%.

There are a few similarities between these troubled congressmen-turned-governors that might explain the phenomenon:

* At least to some degree, four of them (Illinois' Rod Blagojevich, Kentucky's Ernie Fletcher, Maryland's Robert Ehrlich and Alaska's Frank Murkowski) have been accused of hiring improprieties involving selecting partisan supporters, financial backers or family members for government posts. While it would probably be too simplistic to say they were corrupted by Washington, D.C., and some of these accusations haven't been proven, no one ever became more ethical by serving in Congress.

* Three (Correction) Two (Wisconsin's Jim Doyle, South Carolina's Mark Sanford and Ehrlich) have spent their tenures sparring almost constantly with their states' legislatures. While the legislatures share a lot of the blame for that, it does strike me that most congressmen are more adept at scoring partisan or ideological points than they are at brokering compromises.

* Two, Maine's John Baldacci and Alabama's Bob Riley, may have been hampered by bold policy initiatives that have been met with public disapproval. Riley's 52%-40% approval-disapproval rating isn't bad, but it would probably be higher had he not pushed for a historically large tax increase a few years ago. Baldacci is constantly defending his ambitious Dirigo health care program, but he doesn't seem to have won his state's voters to his side. It's not clear to me, however, whether being a former congressman makes you more likely to push audacious policies. 

It's worth noting that two governors in the group, New Mexico's Bill Richardson and Idaho's Dirk Kempthorne, can boast healthy approval ratings. Richardson may have benefited from a five-year stint between leaving Congress and being elected governor, during which he gained executive experience as U.S. Secretary of Energy.

UPDATE: Doyle never served in Congress. Switching him to the non-congressman list didn't change the approval numbers, however.

Comments

[Eric Kelderman]

Gov. Jim Doyle served was elected to three terms as the Wisconsin Attorney General before he ran for governor. He did not serve in Congress.

[Josh]

Thanks, I'm not sure why I thought otherwise. I'll make an update.

[Josh]

Rich Miller at Capitol Fax comments in an e-mail: "Blagojevich spent more than the first two years of his administration
sparring with both parties in the legisalture."