Things are not going well for Sarah Huckabee Sanders, as she has the lowest approval rating of any Arkansas governor in 20 years.
According to the latest Arkansas Poll from the University of Arkansas:
As it does every year, the poll invited approval ratings for public figures. For the first-year governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the poll reported an approval rating of 48%. Although this was the lowest approval rating for an Arkansas governor in the last 20 years, it compared favorably to the approval ratings for Sen. Tom Cotton (42%), Sen. John Boozman (40%), and President Joe Biden (33%).
Still, the overwhelming majority of respondents said they were “very satisfied or satisfied” with state and local services like police protection, public libraries, parks and recreation or colleges and universities. The only two areas where ratings of “unsatisfied or very unsatisfied” approached or exceeded 50% were on the topics of K-12th grade public schools (47%) and the public welfare system (53%). These were also the two areas of highest dissatisfaction 20 years ago, showing the durability of that dissatisfaction over time.
So why is Huckabee Sanders struggling?
The answer in part, could be Lectern Gate, which involves the purchase of a $19,000 and allegations that Sanders’s office illegally altered government documents. It is a story that has plagued Sanders, drawn national attention, and has not gone away.
Gov. Sanders has also made her White House ambitions clear, as she has sought to define herself as the leader of the next generation of Republicans. Traditionally, overambitious first year office holders who have eyes for higher office tend to draw backlash from voters at home.
Huckabee Sanders wants to be president. She isn’t hiding it, but voters seem less than impressed with the job that she is doing in deep red Arkansas.
If Sanders and other MAGAs like Tom Cotton can’t achieve a 50%+ approval rating in a solidly red state, it should be viewed as a sign that MAGA could be heading for a major failure in 2024 and beyond.
