Gov. Dan McKee remains among least popular governors across the country, according to new polling data released last week by Morning Consult.
Surveys conducted between January and March show 43% of Rhode Islanders approve of the job McKee is doing, with 41% of respondents disapproving. Around 16% of those surveyed for the first quarter of 2025 did not have an opinion on Rhode Island’s Democratic governor.
That’s a six-point drop in favorability from the same time last year. McKee’s disapproval rating remains unchanged, leaving him tied for the fourth-highest disapproval rating among the nation’s 50 governors.
Democrat Tina Kotek of Oregon and Republican Ron DeSantis of Florida also had disapproval ratings at 41%.
Morning Consult’s latest poll comes a little over a month after McKee announced his intention to seek reelection in the 2026 gubernatorial race.
Campaign spokesperson Mike Trainor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Just ahead of McKee in unfavorability is Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, who has a 42% disapproval rating. Maine’s Janet Mills, a Democrat, saw 44% of respondents in her state disapprove of how she’s handling the job.
Kim Reynolds, a Republican from Iowa, has the highest disapproval rating from residents, at 49%. Reynolds announced Friday she would not seek re-election in 2026.
Republican Phil Scott of Vermont holds the highest approval rating of any governor in the nation, with 75% of state residents viewing him favorably.
Connecticut’s Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont’s approval rating was at 62%, with 30% of respondents disapproving. Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey’s approval rating was at 58%, while 29% disapproved.
New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte, a Republican elected in November, has a 49% approval rating. After just three months in office, 31% disapprove of how she’s doing the job.
The last time McKee’s approval rating was higher than 50% was in the second quarter of 2023, according to Morning Consult’s polling data. At the time, McKee saw 52% approval, with 33% of respondents holding unfavorable views.
His highest approval – 60% –came in the third quarter of 2021, just a few months after he became governor following Gina Raimondo’s appointment as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Joe Biden’s administration.
Morning Consult conducts nationwide online surveys every quarter to measure the approval ratings of governors, U.S. Senators, and the president. Rhode Island’s senior U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat, had a job approval of 53% and 28% disapproval. Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who was re-elected to a fourth term on Capitol Hill in November, saw an approval rating of 51%, while 32% of those surveyed disapproved.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
