Image: Flickr / DonkeyHotey
By the time Mitt Romney ended his tenure as governor of Massachusetts, 67% of his constituents disapproved of his performance. This was a steep decline from a 66% approval rating when he took office.
| DATE | APPROVAL | DISAPPROVAL | COMMENTS |
| Nov. 18, 2003 | 66% | 33% | Before MASS. Supreme Court ruling on Gay Marriage.(1) |
| Nov. 27, 2003 | 45% | 39% | After taking a stance against Gay Marriage.(1) |
| July 2004 | 48% | ||
| Jan. 2005 | 56% | ||
| March 2005 | 52% | 37% | Few legislative accomplishments. Abandons state and sets sights on presidential bid.(3) |
| April 2005 | 43%(4) | ||
| March 2006 | 46% | 47% | After announcing not running for re-election.(4) |
| May 2006 | 46% | 52% | |
| June 2006 | 39% | 56% | |
| Nov. 2006 | 34% | 65% | End of governorship.(5) |
1. November 27, 2003: Boston Globe reports:
The poll, most of which was conducted before the Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling on gay marriage on Nov. 18, also found Romney popular among voters, with a 66 percent approval rating and 33 percent disapproval.
But that result sharply contrasted with surveys taken after the ruling and Romney’s high-profile opposition to it. A Globe/WBZ-TV survey of 400 residents (as compared to voters) indicated that only 45 percent viewed him favorably, and 39 percent unfavorably.
2. March 11, 2005: Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney sets his sights on the presidency. Boston Globe reports:
So if he does run, Romney should be a candidate to keep your eye on. But will he do as well in practice as he does on paper? In the last month or so, certainly, Romney has looked pretty clumsy . . . . What Romney is still short on is big-ticket legislative accomplishments. Yes, his strategists think they can spin gold from the meta-narrative of an outnumbered governor gamely battling for the Republican way in Democratic Massachusetts. Perhaps. But what Romney could really use right now is to beef up his legislative record.
3. April 25, 2005: The approval rating of Governor Mitt Romney has plummeted 13% from an all-time Bay State Poll high 56% three months ago to an all-time Bay State Poll low of 43%. In answer to the question “If Mitt Romney runs for president in 2008, will he win?” 13.7% Massachusetts residents said “yes” compared to a whopping 66.2% who said “no”. Here’s another reference.
4. March 12, 2006: Voter opinion of Romney appears to have dropped since he announced he would not seek reelection, a step widely seen as preparation for a 2008 presidential campaign. His job approval rating was 46 percent, down from 51 percent in the August survey, while 47 percent disapprove of his performance, up from 42 percent.
5. This political poll tracker page by surveyUSA.com records polls taken each month from May 2005 through December 2006. Significant polls taken on dates not on this tracker are mentioned in the bullet points above.
This is the track record that Romney hopes will stay buried as he shifts all his “economy expertise” to his Bain Capital record. Romney left Bain to join the political race for governor of Massachusetts in 2002. His Bain cred did not translate to “ability to govern.” Massachusetts underperformed with Mitt Romney at the helm.
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Show Your Progressive Side – Slap Some Stew on Your Bumper:
Why did approval rating drop?….. people missed their free government handouts? He balanced the Budget though, can’t have it both ways and please everyone.