Gov. Dan McKee received the dubious distinction of having the lowest approval rating of any governor nationwide, according to Morning Consult’s quarterly survey.
The findings published on Oct. 15 paint a grim picture for Rhode Island’s sitting governor, who scored favorable marks with 4 in 10 voters surveyed by the global consulting firm. It’s also the lowest approval rating and highest disapproval rating McKee has faced in quarterly polls by Morning Consult since he became governor in 2021.
Among state governors, McKee had the third-highest disapproval rate — 44% — behind Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at 53% and Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills at 45%.
Unlike Reynolds and Mills, though, McKee must win back voters next year in order to secure another term as governor. Reynolds has already announced she won’t run for reelection, while Mills just announced her campaign to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.
McKee’s campaign did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment on Tuesday.
Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott boasted the nation’s highest approval rating — 75% — while Connecticut’s Ned Lamont and Massachusetts’ Maura Healey, both Democrats, came in the top 10, with 63% approval for Lamont and 59% for Healey. New Hampshire Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte had a 53% approval rating.
The governor has been plagued by low approval ratings for more than a year — many polls showing even less favorable results than Morning Consult.
His 2026 Democratic opponent, Helena Buonanno Foulkes, came out with a leading edge over McKee in a hypothetical primary, though most voters remain undecided, according to a recent survey by the University of New Hampshire.
Foulkes, a former CVS executive who lost to McKee in the 2022 gubernatorial primary by 3 percentage points, is the only declared challenger for next year’s gubernatorial race. However, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi remains a possible candidate, though the Warwick Democrat has sidestepped direct questions on a gubernatorial campaign.
The Morning Consult survey reflects results of more than 250,000 registered voters nationwide over the three-month period that ended Sept. 30. The margin of error ranged from 1% to 6% depending on the state population. Information on the sample of Rhode Island voters was not immediately available.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
