Poll shows Missourians disapprove of national policies, support local Republicans

Missourians are most concerned about the state of the economy but feel that the Show-Me State is faring better than the nation, according to a poll released Wednesday.

A survey of 900 registered Missouri voters by Saint Louis University and YouGov showed that 44% of respondents feel that the state’s government should be focused on the economy. In second place was health care at 19%, then education with 14%, infrastructure at 16%, and other concerns at 7%.

However, 53% of those surveyed felt that the condition of the U.S. economy was poor, compared with 26% who felt the same about Missouri’s economy.

A majority of respondents — 53% thought Missouri's economy was in fair condition, while 18% thought it was good. However, the dichotomy between the perception of Missouri and the country may be based more on partisan feelings than true economic indicators.

“If you look back in time at the national figures, where people are more optimistic about the national economy is when a Republican is in office, like say, Donald Trump,” said Steven Rogers, an associate professor of political science at Saint Louis University and the director of the poll. “But Joe Biden comes into office and then voters realize, ‘Oh, no, the economy's actually not that good.’”

The partisan divide also appeared in the approval ratings for state and national politicians. Of those surveyed about the way that President Biden is doing his job, 51% strongly disapproved, 9% disapproved, 25% approved and 13% strongly approved.

The U.S. Congress was received even less favorably, with 24% saying they strongly disapproved of the way its doing it’s job, 50% disapproved, 15% approved and only 1% strongly approved.

In contrast, the Missouri Legislature received slightly higher ratings, with 41% saying they approve of the job it’s doing and 5% strongly approving. There were 22% of respondents who disapproved and 23% who strongly disapproved.

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General approval of the direction in which things were headed remained higher in Missouri, with 40% agreeing that the state is on the right track and 41% disagreeing. 19% of respondents were not sure.

At the national level, 68% did not think the nation was headed in a good direction, while 20% agreed and 11% were unsure. Experts again pointed to the partisan divide as a reason for this split in opinion.

“As we can see in the poll, there are some policies that passed in Missouri that are popular with Republicans, and voters tend to favor those policies,” Rogers said.

Voters weigh in on 2024 presidential candidates, Missouri elected officials

With the 2024 election growing nearer, the survey also gauged respondents preferences for presidential candidates. When asked, “If the election for President of the United States were being held today, who would you vote for?” 35% of those surveyed said Biden.

Although no candidate has been selected by the Republican National Convention, 50% of respondents said they would vote for whoever that may be. Those who indicated this preference were then asked which Republican candidate they would support.

Of the people who indicated they would vote Republican in the previous question, 52% said that they would vote for Donald Trump, 17% for Ron DeSantis, 9% for Mike Pence, 5% for Nikki Haley, 5% for Tim Scott and 12% specified an alternative candidate.

Another candidate seeking reelection next year is Sen. Josh Hawley, who already faces competition from several Democratic hopefuls. The survey revealed that 35% of respondents strongly disapproved of the job Hawley is doing, with 10% disapproving, 21% approving, 26% strongly approving and 8% not sure.

“Hawley seems to position himself as an even more conservative Republican, which will favor him in the primary,” Rogers said. “Then in the general election, I think it'd be very hard for a Democrat to kind of knock off a Republican statewide.”

Missouri’s newest senator, Eric Schmitt, received higher ratings from those surveyed, with 13% strongly approving of the job he is doing, 29% approving, 13% disapproving, 25% strongly disapproving and 20% not sure.

Gov. Mike Parson is nearing the end of his tenure in office, as term limits prohibit him from running again. He saw strong approval from 13%, approval from 36%, disapproval from 16% and strong disapproval from 27%, with 8% unsure how they felt about the job he is doing.

More help for the poor, mixed responses on transgender health issues

When asked about specific issues in the state, respondents delivered mixed responses that don’t always align with some Republican policies passed during the recent legislative session.

When asked if the Missouri state government should spend more to aid the poor, 53% agreed, 31% disagreed and 17% were not sure. No specific policy action was tied to this response to indicate where the spending should happen.

The survey also showed that 56% of respondents favor marriage between same-sex couples receiving the same rights as traditional marriages, while 34% were in opposition, and 10% were not sure.

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With the passage of Senate Bill 49, which is currently being challenged in court, gender-affirming care for minors was prohibited by the Missouri legislature.

However, respondents were evenly split about allowing someone younger than 18 to receive gender-affirming counseling: 44% were in favor, 44% were in opposition and 13% were not sure.

The responses skewed slightly more opposed to minors receiving hormone therapy or puberty-blocking medication: 63% were against it, 24% were in favor of it and 13% were not sure.

Even more respondents were against allowing someone younger than 18 to receive gender-affirming surgery: 73% opposed, 14% approved and 13% were unsure.

As to the issue of allowing transgender student athletes to play on sports teams matching their gender identify, 67% were against it, 18% were for it and 15% remained unsure.

“This kind of reaffirms a little bit what the legislature did do in this past session, where they did ban this for minors,” Rogers said. “However, what our poll does show is that there is gradation to these items.”

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missourians want state government to focus on improving the economy