 |  Louis Jacobson is the editor of CongressNow, an online publication launched in 2007 that covers legislation and policy in Congress and is affiliated with Roll Call newspaper in Washington, D.C. Jacobson originated the “Out There” column in 2004 as a feature for Roll Call, where he served as deputy editor. Earlier, Jacobson spent 11 years with National Journal covering lobbying, politics and policy, and served as a contributing writer for two of its affiliates, CongressDaily and Government Executive. He also was a contributing writer to The Almanac of American Politics and has done political handicapping of state legislatures for both The Rothenberg Political Report and The Cook Political Report. | | |
If national polls are accurate, Americans are in a sour mood about politics in Washington. But for the crop of rookie governors elected in 2006, times appear to be good.
Eleven new state leaders were elected last year, and only one — Republican Jim Gibbons of Nevada — has faced serious trouble. Most of the successful governors, Democrat and Republican alike, have taken a moderate and bipartisan approach and reaped the dividends. Here is a rundown.
The governors with the highest performance ratings in public opinion polls and from political pros are Democrats Mike Beebe of Arkansas, Eliot Spitzer of New York and Ted Strickland of Ohio and Republicans Charlie Crist of Florida and Sarah Palin of Alaska.
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Alaska Gov.
Sarah Palin (R)
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Palin, a former small town mayor, rode a reformist platform to victory in Alaska. She quickly vetoed legislation that would have barred state benefits to gay state employees and their partners; sought to sell the state’s expensive jet plane on eBay; won passage of legislation that would kick-start construction of a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope; and got lawmakers to approve her ethics package by a wide margin.
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Florida Gov.
Charlie Crist (R) |
In Florida, Crist is doing what many thought impossible: exceeding the popularity of his two-term predecessor, Jeb Bush (R). His approval numbers are in the 70s, and, rare for a Republican these days, they’re even high among Democrats and Independents, who like his moderate-to-liberal policies on stem cell research and global warming.
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| Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) |
Ohio’s Strickland is also receiving plaudits. In May, the Ohio Poll found him with 68 percent approval, the highest initial gubernatorial rating in the poll’s 26-year history. For Republican respondents, the figure was 64 percent. Strickland took early hits by trying to end school choice and by stating that Iraqi refugees weren’t welcome in his state. But he’s worked well with both parties in the legislature. It’s a “love fest,” one observer of Ohio politics said.
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Arkansas Gov.
Mike Beebe (D) |
No polls are available yet in Arkansas, but Beebe appears to be having a honeymoon as well. He quietly accomplished much of what he laid out in his state of the state speech, including a significant reduction in the grocery tax and a new fund for economic development projects, Hendrix College political scientist Jay Barth said.
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New York Gov.
Eliot Spitzer (D) |
The biggest exception to the bipartisan approach is in New York, where the hard-charging Spitzer has proposed expanding health coverage for uninsured children, providing a big boost in education funding, enhancing political transparency and adding to consumer rights.
But he also engaged in a highly publicized feud with state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, for which he’s had to apologize. According to Quinnipiac University polls, Spitzer’s approval ratings did drop in between June and July, but approving voters still outnumber disapproving voters by nearly two-to-one.
Meanwhile, in two swing states, Iowa and Colorado, new Democratic governors are trying to balance centrist campaign rhetoric with supporters’ pressure to pursue liberal priorities. Both appear to have struck a workable balance.
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Colorado Gov.
Bill Ritter (D) |
Colorado’s Bill Ritter has pushed through a renewable energy program and reduced in industry influence on the state’s oil and gas commission, but he’s also irked organized labor by vetoing pro-union legislation. He also convened a state summit to find broad consensus on how to improve and reform funding to higher education.  |
Iowa Gov.
Chet Culver (D) |
In Iowa, Gov. Chet Culver had a successful legislative session, winning approval of a minimum-wage hike, a tobacco tax increase, a boost for preschool education, a renewable energy fund and a variety of economic development packages.
Budget concerns constitute the main threat to new Democratic governors in Massachusetts and Maryland.
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Massachusetts Gov.
Deval Patrick (D) |
In Massachusetts, Deval Patrick’s “soaring, inspirational” campaign rhetoric has “hit the hard concrete of the state's budget situation, and his expansive liberal agenda has been seriously downsized,” Tufts University political scientist Jeffrey Berry said. But he’s won plaudits for implementing the state’s mandatory health insurance plan.
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Maryland Gov.
Martin O'Malley (D) |
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signed the nation’s first statewide “living wage” law and froze state tuitions, but he, like Patrick, is facing a stark budgetary reality. “He's in ‘band-aid’ mode about the structural budget deficit, trying to pull it off slowly instead of just making the case for the new taxes needed, raising them, and moving forward,” one Democratic observer said.
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Idaho Gov.
Butch Otter (R) |
In Idaho, Republican Gov. Butch Otter’s longstanding libertarian philosophy has sometimes conflicted with the needs of state government, with political reality ultimately curbing his small-government instincts. He sought to pare back a program called Parents as Teachers until a broad spectrum of Idahoans protested; he then sought to find consensus. He also irked legislators when he abruptly decided to eliminate a major portion of a Capitol building project. Eventually, he and legislators compromised on the scope of the project.
Otter has also floated raising taxes to fund highway construction and reached out to environmentalists on the sale of state lands. Overall, relations between Otter and the legislature are “better than the last elected governor, Dirk Kempthorne (R), had at any time during his governorship,” said Randy Stapilus, a publisher who writes frequently about politics in Idaho.
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| Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) |
The only rookie in political hot water is Nevada Republican Jim Gibbons, and his trouble started before Election Day when there were allegations —forcefully denied by Gibbons — that he had touched a woman inappropriately outside a restaurant. Also roiling his tenure are questions about his dealings with a defense contractor when he was a member of Congress.
By May, Gibbons’ approval rating had sunk to the 20s, though he has since recovered a bit, thanks to his emphasis on a no-new-taxes policy and a push for transportation spending.
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By sybel kimmel on Aug 16, 2007 11:58:45 AM
The article detailing information about the governors of a few states, ie. Alaska & midwestern states was excellent. The reader was glad to hear that Gov. Christ of Florida is at least as popular as Jeb Bush has been. A hard man to beat. He has done a great deal for the educational program of the state.
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