CHARLESTON, W.Va. — New survey results show President Joe Biden’s rating is low among West Virginians, while more than half of state residents strongly approve of Gov. Jim Justice’s job performance.
Mark Blankenship, of MBE Research, recently conducted an independent poll on political figures in the Mountain State.
Biden’s overall approval rating was 32 percent and disapproval rating was 65 percent.
“It’s not a shock. He lost West Virginia badly,” Blankenship said on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline,” citing the 2020 election results.
The president hit a new low nationally, according to a separate ABC News-Washington Post poll out Monday that shows 41 percent of Americans approve and 53 percent disapprove of his job performance.
In West Virginia, Blankenship said many feel strongly against the work the president is doing.
“Almost half of voters, 53 percent, strongly disapprove, so the intensity with which they disapprove is the only real surprising thing,” he said.
About 69 percent of West Virginia voters are applauding Gov. Justice for his work since taking office in 2017. His disapproval rate was 28 percent.
“When you think about what he has endured — the party switch, budget issues, COVID, he got his businesses back on track — all of these things that he’s had to deal with and still maintain a sky high approval rating, I think that says something to his resiliency,” Blankenship said.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has an overall job approval rating of 60 percent compared to Biden’s 32 percent.
“Voters want to be listened to. When they feel like you’re listening to them, they will reward that either at the polls or in numbers like this,” Blankenship said. “I think that’s what’s recognized here is that Senator Manchin is listening to the people of West Virginia.”
The MBE Research poll also found 78 percent of voters said they support Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) working together in a bipartisan effort to pass the national infrastructure bill to address roads, bridges, power and other needs.
Nearly 74 percent of voters also said Manchin should oppose the president’s Build Back Better plan.