Gov. Susana Martinez (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
A survey from a Republican polling company says Gov. Susana Martinez’s approval rating is “sky high” as she finishes her first year in office.
Some 65 percent of those surveyed by Public Opinion Strategies said they approve of the job Martinez is doing, while 29 percent said they disapprove.
The survey of 500 registered voters was conducted Dec. 12 and 13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percentage points. Read the polling memo here.
A pollster with Public Opinion Strategies (POS) was among those who criticized the voter-registration composition of the left-leaning Public Policy Polling survey unveiled last week. The release of the POS survey about Martinez appeared to be timed to beat release of Martinez approval numbers from the PPP survey, which is expected today.
The POS poll memo states that “Survey respondents were 34% Republican, 51% Democrat and 15% Independent, which reflects the composition of the electorate in the 2008 general election and mirrors the current voter registration gap between Republicans and Democrats in the state (17%).”
More from the poll memo:
“ • The Governor’s approval rating has actually improved over the course of the year, from 59% approval in March to 64% approval in August to 65% in the current survey.
“ • Among Republicans, Martinez holds a 90% approve/7% disapprove rating; among Independents, 62% approve and 29% disapprove, and; among Democrats, Martinez is at 49% approve/44% disapprove. Among soft Democrats, her approval rating is 74% approve/17% disapprove.
“ • Sixty-two percent (62%) of Hispanics and 68% of white voters approve of the job performance of the Governor.”
“Our jobs governor is keeping her promises to New Mexico families. Her integrity, work ethic and dedication to improving the lives of everyday New Mexicans are at the heart of her soaring job approval,” Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Monty Newman said in a news release.
Update, 1:15 p.m.
I should have mentioned earlier, for purposes of disclosure, that the polling memo is from POS’s Nicole McCleskey, the wife of Martinez’s top political adviser Jay McCleskey.