On January 17th SurveyUSA released a 600 sample poll taken in Missouri from January 11th through the 13th which shows the approval ratings for Senator Claire McCaskill (D) and Senator Kit Bond (r). The margin of error is 4.0% for Kit Bond and 4.1% for Claire McCaskill.
The poll was sponsored by KCTV in Kansas City.
Both Kit Bond and Claire McCaskill are doing about the same (within the margin of error) when compared to the December ’07 poll.
Do you approve or disapprove of the job Claire McCaskill is doing as United States Senator?
All
49% – approve
43% – disapprove
8% – not sureDemocrats [38% of sample]
76% – approve
18% – disapprove
6% – not surerepublicans [30% of sample]
21% – approve
71% – disapprove
8% – not sureIndependents [26% of sample]
45% – approve
47% – disapprove
8% – not sure
There is improvement for Claire among Democrats. Her numbers among republicans remain about the same. There is some erosion among “Independents”, but this is still within the margin of error.
Do you approve or disapprove of the job Kit Bond is doing as United States Senator?
All
54% – approve
38% – disapprove
8% – not sureDemocrats [38% of sample]
41% – approve
51% – disapprove
8% – not surerepublicans [30% of sample]
81% – approve
12% – disapprove
7% – not sureIndependents [26% of sample]
60% – approve
34% – disapprove
6% – not sure
Kit Bond’s numbers improved among republicans from December ’07. His numbers remained about the same among Democrats. His numbers improved among “Independents”.
Let’s look at Claire McCaskill’s approval and the issues questions:
Top Issues for Next President (Claire McCaskill’s approval numbers within each group)
Economy [29% of sample]
53% – approve
39% – disapprove
8% – not sureHealth Care [19% of sample]
57% – approve
34% – disapprove
8% – not sureIraq [13% of sample]
63% – approve
35% – disapprove
3% – not sureEnvironment [6% of sample]
29% – approve
71% – disapprove
0% – not sureSocial Security [6% of sample]
50% – approve
40% – disapprove
10% – not sureEducation [6% of sample]
58% – approve
42% – disapprove
0% – not sureTerrorism [9% of sample]
24% – approve
63% – disapprove
13% – not sureImmigration [9% of sample]
33% – approve
60% – disapprove
7% – not sure
Claire McCaskill gets net approval in five out of the three categories of voters who chose the most important issue facing the next president. Not surprisingly, she has net disapproval from those who chose either “terrorism” or “immigration”. That’s definitely the republican “fear” base. What is surprising is that she has a net disapproval among those who chose “the environment”.
Top Issues for Next President (Kit Bond’s approval numbers within each group)
Economy [29% of sample]
54% – approve
38% – disapprove
8% – not sureHealth Care [19% of sample]
52% – approve
40% – disapprove
8% – not sureIraq [13% of sample]
61% – approve
39% – disapprove
0% – not sureEnvironment [6% of sample]
70% – approve
28% – disapprove
2% – not sureSocial Security [6% of sample]
58% – approve
31% – disapprove
11% – not sureEducation [6% of sample]
40% – approve
57% – disapprove
3% – not sureTerrorism [9% of sample]
84% – approve
9% – disapprove
7% – not sureImmigration [9% of sample]
72% – approve
19% – disapprove
9% – not sure
Yes, Kit Bond, the king of pork, is definitely the Teflon senator from Missouri. He has net approval from the “fear” base of the republican party (“terrorism” and “immigration”). The net approval from the “environment” portion of the sample has got to be an outlier.
The distribution of the sample by party identification is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the December ’07 poll.