Utahns don’t like Congress much, but they do approve of the job performance of the state’s four House members.
Our latest UtahPolicy.com survey finds just 30% of Utahns approve of the U.S. House of Representatives and 26% approve of the U.S. Senate.
However, residents do give the four Republican members of Congress high marks.
- 4th District Rep. Mia Love has the highest approval rating in the House, coming in at 65%. 29% of those in Utah’s 4th District say they disapprove of her performance.
- Rep. Jason Chaffetz gets approval from 64% of 3rd District residents while 29% disapprove.
- 63% of 1st District residents approve of the Rep. Rob Bishop’s performance while 24% say they disagree with him.
- Rep. Chris Stewart is under 50% approval in his district (48%) with 22% disapproval. 33% say they don’t have an opinion.
As you might expect, Republicans really like Mia Love’s job performance while Democrats dislike her very much. 86% of Republicans approve of her while 70% of Democrats disapprove. Independents are split, with 50% approving and 46% registering disapproval.
Love is facing a re-election rematch this year with Democrat Doug Owens, who came within 5,000 votes of defeating her 2014. To have a shot at unseating Love this year Owens needs to appeal to independents and, to a lesser extent, Republicans. Given her strong support from those aligned with the GOP and the split among independents, that’s likely going to be a difficult prospect for Owens.
Rep. Chris Stewart’s less than 50% approval is somewhat alarming, given this is his second term. Incumbents should be above 50% heading into an election year. 1/3 of residents in Stewart’s 2nd District said they have no opinion about the job performance of the two-term Republican. That suggests Stewart needs to do more to improve his public profile. That unfamiliarity with Stewart stretches across party lines.
- 28% of Republicans expressed no opinion about Stewart.
- 38% of Democrats had no opinion of Stewart.
- 31% of independent voters said the same.
Chaffetz and Bishop appear to be sitting pretty with their constituents ahead of any 2016 re-election bid.
Another way to look at these numbers is the net approval rating, which is the approval numbers minus the disapproval rating.
- Rob Bishop has the highest net approval rating of the delegation at +39.
- Mia Love’s approval net approval rating is also solidly in positive territory at +36.
- Rep. Jason Chaffetz enjoys a +35 net approval rating.
- Stewart’s net approval is lower than the rest of the delegation, but still in positive territory at +24.
While it shouldn’t come as a shock, it’s worth noting that conservatives love the four Republican members of Congress, while Utahns on the political left are not dues-paying members of their fan clubs.
The survey was conducted by Dan Jones and Associates from November 5-14, 2015. The 1st District survey was among 153 adults and has a margin of error +/- 8.92%. The 2nd District survey covered 144 adults and has a margin of error +/- 8.17%. The 3rd District poll was among 118 adults with a margin of error +/- 9.02%. The 4th District survey was conducted among 113 adults with a margin of error +/- 9.22%.
