story from Talk Business & Politics, a TCW content partner
Gov. Asa Hutchinson has a 63% favorable rating among registered voters in Arkansas, while President Barack Obama ranks much lower at 38%, according to a poll commissioned by Talk Business & Politics, Hendrix College and Impact Management Group.
In the survey, 25% of respondents said their impression of Hutchinson is “strongly favorable,” 38% said it is “somewhat favorable,” 9% said it is “somewhat unfavorable,” and 13% said it is “strongly unfavorable.” Another 12% did not recognize Hutchinson’s name, while 3% had no opinion.
Four hundred registered voters were surveyed April 2-5, with a plus or minus margin of error of 4.9%. Three-fourths were surveyed by landline and one-fourth by cell phone. The poll largely focused on education issues in Arkansas.
The survey began the day after Hutchinson held a press conference asking legislators to recall House Bill 1228, the controversial first version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the poll was in the field for the height of the legislative drama. Talk Business & Politics surveyed a similar question in February which found at the time that Hutchinson’s job approval stood at 52% to 12% who disapproved of his performance.
Almost half of the April survey respondents (47%) said they had a strongly unfavorable view of Obama, while 11% said they view him somewhat unfavorably for a combined 58% unfavorable rating. Another 23% have a strongly favorable view, while 15% view him somewhat favorably for a combined 38% favorable rating. Another 3% of registered voters said they had not heard of him, while 1% had no opinion.
Arkansans view their two U.S. senators more positively than negatively. Fifty percent of respondents view Sen. Tom Cotton favorably (32% strongly, 18% somewhat). Of the rest, 39% view him unfavorably (28% strongly, 11% somewhat), 8% have not heard of him, and 3% have no opinion. In the earlier February poll, a different but similar question – gauging Cotton’s job approval rating – had him at 50% approve to 30% disapprove.
The state’s senior senator, John Boozman, is viewed favorably by 46% of respondents (16% strongly, 30% somewhat) while 14% view him somewhat unfavorably and 6% have a strongly unfavorable opinion. Another 26% have not heard of him, while 8% have no opinion.
When asked about political affiliation, the most common answer was “independent” (34%). Another 33% said they are Republican (22% “strong,” 11% “not so strong”). Twenty-eight percent (19% strong, 9% not so strong) said they are Democrats.
Asked about their political beliefs, 26% said they are “very conservative,” 32% said they are “somewhat conservative,” 7% said “moderate,” 21% said “somewhat liberal,” and 9% said “very liberal.”
Respondents were asked what they thought is the “most important problem facing Arkansas today” and were not given a list from which to choose. The economy was the most oft-cited answer (18%), followed by education (10%) and health care (7%). No other issue polled above 4%.
The respondents were almost evenly split by gender and evenly split by the state’s four congressional districts. Eighty-four percent said they are white, 12% said they are African-American, and 2% said they are Hispanic American or Latino.
Forty-five percent said their total annual household income is below $51,000, while 15% said it is above $100,000. Forty-one percent said they are a college graduate. Half said they live in a rural area, while 29% said they live in a suburban area and 19% said they live in an urban area. Sixty-four percent said they are at least 45 years old.