Report: Lujan Grisham among least-popular governors in America

Apr. 29—Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is among the least popular governors in the nation, according to a new report.

Morning Consult, a global market research company, reported Thursday the Democratic incumbent has one of the weakest job approval ratings of governors up for reelection.

Less than half of New Mexico voters, or 48 percent, approve of Lujan Grisham's job performance heading into the November general election, according to Morning Consult's Political Intelligence quarterly tracking.

"Since the beginning of Joe Biden's presidency, we've seen Gov. Lujan Grisham's approval rating fall to 48 percent," senior reporter Eli Yokley said in an interview.

"In the first quarter of Biden's presidency, about 54 percent approved. It went up a little bit into the summer, and ever since about the end of June in 2021, we've seen a steady decline," Yokley said. "When you look across the different parties, [Lujan Grisham's] decline among voters in New Mexico was sort of across the board among Democrats, independents and Republicans."

Yokley said it's hard to nail down exactly why Lujan Grisham's popularity has waned among voters, but he noted some recent controversies — including a $150,000 settlement with a former campaign staffer who accused the governor of grabbing his crotch and her veto of a $50 million appropriations bill earlier this year that angered lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Her handling of the coronavirus pandemic, including implementing some of the most-stringent restrictions in the country, also has been an ongoing subject of stinging criticism against the governor.

"I think it's a lot of things and also just the fact that the environment that we're living in, in terms of the economy, is not great," Yokley said. "It's hurting President Biden, but it might also be weighing a bit on some of these governors who are the top politician in their states."

Lujan Grisham's campaign spokeswoman seemed unfazed by the unflattering report.

"Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is in one of the strongest positions an incumbent governor of New Mexico has ever been in," Kendall Witmer said in a statement. "The out-of-touch Republican candidates for governor are more interested in personal attacks and courting favor from D.C. than proposing commonsense, bipartisan solutions for New Mexicans and their families."

Witmer said New Mexicans stand with Lujan Grisham "because of her record delivering relief to households facing rising prices, cutting taxes for small businesses and families, improving public schools, and investing in public safety to combat crime." She said voters know the governor "is a strong, effective leader who always puts New Mexico first."

The Cook Political Report shows the race for governor of New Mexico is "likely" to go Democratic, but Yokley said Lujan Grisham's 48 percent approval rating is "not great." Morning Consult's survey found 45 percent of voters disapprove of her job performance. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percent.

The survey found most governors running for reelection have approval ratings of 50 percent or higher.

"When you look across the map, there's only a couple of governors who are worse off than [Lujan Grisham] is," Yokley said. "I feel like the June primary is going to be a big deal to see how [Republican gubernatorial candidate] Mark Ronchetti performs, if he's able to pull this off. Republicans in Washington see him as a pretty strong candidate. I mean, he outperformed President Trump in 2020" — when Ronchetti ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate — "in a year that wasn't necessarily great for Republicans."

Yokley said Ronchetti, a former television meteorologist, is widely considered the front-runner among the five Republicans seeking the nomination for governor. Ronchetti, who had built-in name recognition after working in TV for years, has raised considerably more money than any of his rivals.

Yokley said Lujan Grisham still has time to convince voters she deserves a second term.

"But she's definitely got some work to do to win back some of these voters," he said. "The voters in New Mexico are just pretty split on her performance at this point."

A big factor in the outcome of the November general election is which Republican candidate will face off against Lujan Grisham, Yokely said.

"The eventual Republican nominee is going to have some work to do," he said. "But having a low job approval rating is certainly not the best place to be for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham."

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.