According to a new poll by Morning Consult, the ten most highly-rated governors in the United States have one thing in common -- they are all Republicans. With Republicans in control of 33 governorships nationwide, it's not surprising that the poll is tilted in favor of the GOP. However, what is surprising is that not one of America's 16 Democratic governors cracked the top ten.
Poll finds Christie most unpopular governor
From January to March, Morning Consult called upon 85,000 registered voters to rate the job performance of their Governor. While the rankings are top-heavy with Republicans, one prominent Republican governor finds himself at the bottom of the list -- Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who is now "officially" the least popular governor in America.
Surprisingly, the top two spots on the list belong to Republican governors of blue states. According to the poll, the nation's most popular governor is Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, followed closely by Larry Hogan of Maryland.
In Massachusetts, 75 percent of voters approve of Baker's job performance, while 73 percent of Marylanders gave Hogan their stamp of approval. The third most popular governor on the list is Doug Burgum of North Dakota, with Vermont's Phil Scott and South Dakota's Dennis Daugaard rounding out the top five.
Other Republican governors earning a spot in the top ten include Asa Hutchinson (Arkansas), Greg Abbott (Texas), Bill Haslam (Tennessee), Brian Sandoval (Nevada), Gary Herbert (Utah) and Nathan Deal (Georgia).
The highest-rated Democratic governor is Andrew Cuomo of New York.
Mixed reviews for well-known governors
Several high-profile governors earned mixed reviews from their constituents. John Kasich (R), of Ohio, holds down the 19th spot, with an approval rating of 59 percent. Jerry Brown (D) of California comes in 23rd, with a 58% rating.
Rick Scott (R) of Florida ranked 25th, while Virginia Democrat Terry McAuliffe hold the 30th spot on the most popular governors list. Tom Wolf (D) of Pennsylvania ranks 35th, with a 48% rating, and Maine's Paul LePage -- a prominent Trump supporter during the 2016 presidential election -- is ranked 38th.
Scott Walker, one of the 2016 presidential contenders for the Republican party, is ranked 39th, with only 46 percent of voters giving him their thumbs up.
At the bottom of the list lurks Mary Fallin (R), the first female governor in Oklahoma history, followed by Rick Snyder (Michigan), Dan Malloy (Connecticut), Sam Brownback (Kansas), and Christie.
