Utahns don’t have a very high opinion of President Barack Obama according to the latest UtahPolicy.com survey.
About 2/3rds (64%) say they have an unfavorable view of President Obama, while a third say they view the president favorably in the poll conducted for UtahPolicy.com by Dan Jones & Associates.
Utah is not favorable territory for the 44th president by any stretch of the imagination. In 2012, Obama lost to Mitt Romney by a whopping 47-percent. Obama did a little better against McCain in Utah in 2008, losing to the Arizona Senator by 28-points.
In July of 2015, we found that 65% did not approve of his job performance, while 33% approved. Those numbers are nearly identical to the latest survey results, meaning the needle has not moved in one direction or the other in the past year.
The Utah results stand in stark contrast of Obama’s national approval rating, which just hit its highest level since he was inaugurated for a second term. Last week, a national poll pegged Obama’s approval rating at 51%. A recent Gallup poll put his approval rating at 52%. That’s a major improvement since his national ratings have been hovering in the low to mid-40’s for most of his second term.
It’s not surprising at all to find that President Obama’s favorability ratings vary wildly by partisan affiliation.
– 87% of Republicans view Obama unfavorably, including 67% who responded “very unfavorable.”
– 92% of Utah Democrats see Obama favorably. That high number includes 70% who say “very favorable.”
– Independent voters in Utah see Obama more unfavorably than favorably. 54% say their impression of him is negative while 43% view him in a positive light.
The Dan Jones & Associates survey was conducted May 2-10, 2016 among 588 registered Utah voters with a margin of error +/- 4.04%.
