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Controversies have consequences.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's job approval rating dropped 8 percentage points from February to May, according to a statewide survey of 600 registered voters reported by The Detroit News.
Contacted May 22-26, 50% of participants said they approved of Whitmer's performance while 44% said they disapproved.
In a similar Feb. 3-6 poll, three months earlier, 58% approved while 38% disapproved.
The key question ahead of her reelection campaign in 2022 is whether the rating plateaus or continues to drop.
The governor has generated three flaps in recent months. (Photo: State of Michigan)
The poll by the Detroit Regional Chamber business group has an error margin of 4 percentage points in either direction.
Lansing pollster Richard Czuba, who oversaw both surveys, tells the paper that the Democratic governor could be in a strong position for re-election if she keeps at least 50-percent support.
Whitmer's approval rating had remained just under 60% in [his] polls in September, October and February after her administration gained national attention for its aggressive response to Covid-19.
In recent weeks, ... the governor has faced a string of public controversies.
Those flaps involved a $155,506 exit payment to her former health director, a three-day March flight to Florida on a private jet to see her elderly dad and an East Lansing bar meal with 12 friends and staffers at tables pushed together in violation of her health agency's epidemic order.
