Remember how bad Rick Perry’s poll numbers were in May? They’re worse now.
Do you approve or disapprove of the job Rick Perry is doing as Governor?
38% Approve
53% Disapprove
10% Not Sure
And the crosstabs are also uglier. He’s now in net negative territory across all races, genders, age groups, and regions. Hell, he’s even down 40 to 50 among “regular” churchgoers. He may be comfortably ahead in the primary, but he’s got to be sweating the general, at least a little bit.
Now, we know that everyone’s approval suffers while the Lege is in session, and I’d say that effect is magnified when the Lege goes into overtime, as Perry mandated. He may get the bounce he’s looking for if the House and Senate find a way to reconcile their school finance and tax reform plans, or he may find that what they come up with is so completely unpopular that he’ll wish he let sleeping dogs lie. Either way, I’m pretty sure this isn’t how he envisioned things would go. Thanks to Jim D for the link.
It’s official: Texas is sick of Rick.
What’s amazing is that four years ago, he actually seemed rather reasonable, at least compared to the Shrub. I didn’t vote for him in ’02, but I was comfortable enough with his first two years in office that I felt free to cast a protest vote for Manujan (the Green candidate) and against Tony Sanchez.
Needless to say, my attitude changed when he turned into DeLay’s redistricting waterboy. And nothing he’s done since has come close to rehabilitating his reputation.
In ’06, I’m taking every opportunity to vote against him, including crossing over and voting in the GOP primary. Hutchison’s certainly no prize, but she’s gotta be better than Perry (if she runs).