Politics & Government

New Poll Says 84 Percent Would 'Vote Again' for Gov. Bob McDonnell in Wake of Gifts Scandal

But governor sees ratings dip — especially among women.

By Mary Ann Barton

Thanks to a scandal involving gifts to the governor and his family, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's popularity in the Commonwealth appears to be slipping, according to the results of a new poll released Wednesday.

At the same time, among voters who say they voted for McDonnell in 2009, 84 percent say they would vote for him again, while 7 percent say no, with 8 percent undecided.

The Republican governor, who has enjoyed high ratings throughout his career in Virginia's top political job, now has a 46-37 percent approval rating, according to results of a poll by Quinnipiac University.

"The lofty levels of 2-1 job approval that Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell once enjoyed have slipped away with six months left in his term," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "He's under 50 percent for the second poll in a row, with just a 9-point net approval after substantial media coverage of his relationship with a campaign donor and associated problems."

Brown is alluding to reports of investigations into the governor's ties to Jonnie R. Williams Sr., who is the CEO of Star Scientific Inc. 

The Washington Post reported this spring that the Commonwealth's first couple was helping promote their friend's nutritional supplement, Anatabloc, and that he paid a $15,000 catering tab at their daughter's wedding two years ago. 

The allegations began to seep out when a disgruntled former employee, chef Todd Schneider, left the governor's mansion and began to talk about the family.

The governor has said that the payment made for his daughter's wedding was a gift to her and that promoting the business was similar to what he does for other Virginia businesses.

Other results of the poll show that Virginia voters say 44 - 36 percent that the governor is "honest and trustworthy" and 16 percent of voters, most of whom are Democrats, think he should resign, the university said in their news release about the results.

"Almost 80 percent of voters are aware of the controversy and seem to be somewhat concerned," Brown said. "The bottom line seems to be that they view him as just another politician, but at this point they are not clamoring for his scalp." 

Only 16 percent of Virginia voters say McDonnell should resign, including 4 percent of Republicans, 29 percent of Democrats and 13 percent of independent voters. The governor should not resign, 61 percent say, and 24 percent are undecided. 

In the survey, 40 percent of women approve and 42 percent disapprove of the job McDonnell is doing. This compares to the results of a May 15 survey by the university when women approved 45 - 30 percent, giving the governor an overall 49 - 28 percent approval.  

There is a similar partisan twinge to McDonnell's job approval and voters' view of his honesty. Democrats disapprove 61 - 22 percent, while approval is 72 - 14 percent among Republicans and 48 - 35 percent among independent voters, compared to a 54 - 27 percent approval among independent voters in Quinnipiac University's May 15 survey. 

"Gov. McDonnell loses some ground among independent voters and gains some ground among Republicans. But he drops from a minus 10 to a minus 39 percentage points among Democrats," said Brown. 


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