Recent polling on Gov. Roy Cooper’s approval ratings gives mixed signals, according to a recent commentary in Carolina Journal by syndicated columnist John Hood. Hood explains the results:

[Public Policy Polling]  June 17-18 survey of 610 registered voters put the governor at 40 percent approval and 41 percent disapproval. In the Civitas/Harper Polling survey of 500 likely voters, taken June 8-10, 53 percent approved of Cooper’s job performance while 34 percent disapproved.

While results vary for Gov. Cooper’s approval, both polls found deterioration in Cooper’s political standing, according to Hood:

PPP’s previous public poll, released in January, had the governor above water at 44 percent approval/35 percent disapproval. On the Civitas tracker, the governor’s approval has dropped five points since March while his disapproval has gone up five points.

Hood predicts that the governor’s Medicaid expansion efforts are not likely to regain Cooper any favor:

At the moment, the governor and GOP lawmakers are facing off over the state budget. Cooper is telegraphing that he’ll veto it if it doesn’t include Medicaid expansion, a core issue for the Democratic base. Republican leaders are telegraphing that they and their own political base won’t accept such a vast expansion of the welfare state.

The governor seems to think that centering his budget message on Medicaid expansion is a winning strategy. I don’t see any evidence of that yet.

I’m not certain why Cooper fared so differently in the two polls. I am fairly certain that his Medicaid gambit won’t boost him in either one.

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