Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
Gov. Bill Richardson (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Bill Richardson has become one of the least popular governors in the nation, according to a new survey conducted by a Democratic firm.
The poll found that 63 percent of the state’s voters disapprove of the job Richardson is doing as governor, while only 28 percent approve. Even among Democrats, 42 percent approve of the job he’s doing while more – 47 percent – disapprove.
That’s according to a preview of a larger poll of New Mexico voters conducted by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm, that’s scheduled to be released today. The wider poll will have both good and bad news for New Mexico Democrats, a tweet from Public Policy Polling states.
The numbers are so bad, the preview blog posting states, that they “suggest Richardson’s days as an elected official in New Mexico are over for good.”
The margin of error in the poll and other information wasn’t released in the preview blog.
Richardson has been bogged down in scandal for more than a year, and it cost him his nomination to be U.S. commerce secretary. That has certainly affected his approval rating. But there’s something else interesting cited in the preview of the poll:
“Richardson’s loss of popularity continues a trend of the 2008 Democratic also rans either going into the administration or having their political careers go downhill. Joe Biden is Vice President, Hillary Clinton is Secretary of State, and Tom Vilsack is Secretary of Agriculture. They’re all doing fine. But Chris Dodd and Evan Bayh both had to retire once their prospects for reelection dimmed, these kinds of numbers suggest Richardson’s days as an elected official in New Mexico are over for good (not that there’s a clear opening any time in the future anyway with the state having 2 Democratic Senators), and John Edwards, well no explanation needed. Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel have largely returned to the obscurity they came from.
“It’s possible with the exception of Kucinich that none of the Democrats who ran unsuccessfully for the nomination in 2008 will win an election ever again.”
It’s the preview blog posting that states that Richardson “has become one of the least popular Governors in the country.”
Eleven months ago, Richardson’s approval rating was at 42 percent in an independent poll.