Lamont Approval Rating Low in New Poll
Residents concerned about economic growth and high cost of living in state
A new phone and digital poll conducted by Sacred Heart University’s Institute for Public Policy, completed in partnership with the Hartford Courant between December 16, 2019, and January 2, 2020, involved 1,000 Connecticut residents and asked 39 questions about the cost of living in Connecticut, Governor Lamont’s performance to date, business growth, toll proposals and residents’ tolerance for an economic development surcharge.
More than two-fifths of Connecticut residents surveyed (41.3 percent) reported they disapprove of the way Ned Lamont is handling his job as governor. Disapproval for the Democratic governor among Republicans was 69.2 percent, with 13.6 percent unsure, and among unaffiliated residents, 43.8 percent disapproved of Lamont’s performance, with 35.8 percent unsure. Among Democrats, 21.3 percent said they disapproved, with 33.9 percent unsure.
When asked about specific areas of performance, the highest percentage of respondents reported they approve of the way Lamont handles public primary education (30.1 percent), while the lowest number reported they approve of the way he is handling taxes (18.9 percent). For health-care performance, 29.3 percent reported they approve of the way Lamont is managing his duties, and 25 percent reported they approve of the way Lamont is handling tolls. In another key indicator, only 23.4 percent reported they approve of the way Lamont is managing the state budget deficit.
In Sacred Heart’s November 2018 poll, former governor, Dannel Malloy had an approval rating of 20.6 percent, with 67.4 percent of respondents disapproving of the way he was handling the job and 12 percent unsure.
Other key findings from the SHU Polling Institute/Hartford Courant survey include:
- On tolls: 64.7 percent of respondents said they were aware of Lamont’s new transportation proposal that involves tolling only on 12 of the 14 bridges across the state, and another 47.5 percent reported they would support a plan for a truck-only tolling system. Of that number, 62.1 percent of Democratic-surveyed respondents reported they would support a plan for a truck-only tolling system, compared to only 38.8 percent of Republican residents surveyed.
- On the state economy: More than half of respondents (53.7 percent) believe Connecticut’s economy is worse than surrounding states, and 32.7 percent of respondents believe business growth in Connecticut has worsened over the past year.
- On economic development: Just over two thirds of respondents (67.2 percent) think Connecticut should focus attention on both attracting and retaining businesses. At the same time, 56.6 percent of respondents reported they oppose an economic-development charge added to their utility bill to attract new companies to move their business to Connecticut. However, of that number, 39.1 percent of respondents ages 18-34 support an economic-development charge added to their utility bill.
- On overall quality of life: In December 2019, 60.6 percent of state residents surveyed reported their quality of life in the state to be either excellent (17.3 percent) or good (43.3 percent). However, more than half of the residents surveyed (54.2 percent) reported it is very (17.3 percent) or somewhat (36.9 percent) difficult to maintain their standard of living. The top-reported reasons for this difficulty included tax increases—state (56.1 percent), increase/high taxes overall (42.8 percent)—and price increases of general goods (40.8 percent).
“Concerns about future economic growth and the high cost of living in Connecticut continue to dominate poll results,” said Lesley DeNardis, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy and director of Sacred Heart University’s master of public administration (MPA) program. “Respondents are looking for tax relief and new sources of revenue, including a willingness to allow some limited tolling scenarios, but it’s obvious from this poll that while residents say they want increased economic development, they aren’t willing to pay extra for it. That dichotomy—and the belief that economic life is better in adjoining states—reflect data from earlier polls we’ve conducted foretelling a continuing exodus from Connecticut.”
GreatBlue Research conducted the Connecticut-specific scientific telephone survey on behalf of the SHU Institute for Public Policy, interviewing 1,000 residents. Statistically, this sampling represents a margin for error of +/-3.02 percent at a 95 percent confidence level. The poll was conducted in partnership with the Hartford Courant.
Sacred Heart’s Institute for Public Policy, which was established in 2017 in the College of Arts and Sciences, is aligned with the University’s master of public administration program. In addition to hosting state-wide polls, the institute conducts public policy research, hosts public forums and workshops and serves as a public-policy learning incubator for students.
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