Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-thh2z Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-14T16:16:51.087Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gubernatorial, Senatorial, and State-level Presidential Job Approval: The U.S. Officials Job Approval Ratings (JAR) Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Thad Beyle ,
Richard G. Niemi  and
Lee Sigelman
Thad Beyle
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Richard G. Niemi
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
Lee Sigelman
Affiliation:
The George Washington University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Job approval ratings for state governors, unlike those for the United States president, have been relatively inaccessible to political scientists. We introduce the U.S. Officials Job Approval Ratings (JAR) dataset, a new compilation of gubernatorial job approval ratings—along with senatorial and state-level presidential ratings—that draws together many of these ratings, beginning with the first published rating in 1947 and extending through 2000. We describe some of the characteristics of these data, especially the kinds of rating scales used and their impact on overall approval assessment. We then show that 1993–2000 presidential approval levels varied widely from state to state and are correlated with state-level support for Clinton in the 1996 presidential election. Finally, we note that while gubernatorial approval often declines over time, many governors remain popular over the length of their term.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , Fall 2002 , pp. 215 - 229
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association, 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Beyle, Thad. 1992. “Gubernatorial Job Performance Ratings: The New State Cottage Industry.” Comparative State Politics 13(3):40–43.Google Scholar
Beyle, Thad. 1994. “Rating the Nation's Governors.” The Polling Report 10(21):1, 4.Google Scholar
Beyle, Thad. 1995. “Gubernatorial Report Cards: Summer, 1994.” Spectrum: The Journal of State Government 68(2):14–20.Google Scholar
Born, Richard. 1990. “The Shared Fortunes of Congress and Congressmen: Members May Run from Congress, but They Can't Hide.” Journal of Politics 52:1223–1239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brace, Paul, and Hinckley, Barbara. 1991. “The Structure of Presidential Approval: Constraints within and across Presidencies.” Journal of Politics 53:993–1017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, David. 1996. “Polls and Elections.” In Comparing Democracies: Elections and Voting in Global Perspective, eds. LeDuc, Lawrence, Niemi, Richard G., and Norris, Pippa. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Campbell, James E. 1997. The Presidential Pulse of Congressional Elections. 2nd ed. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky.Google Scholar
Cohen, Jeffrey E. 1983. “Gubernatorial Popularity in Nine States.” American Politics Quarterly 11:219–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crew, Robert E. Jr., and Weiher, Gregory R.. 1996. “Gubernatorial Popularity in Three States: A Preliminary Model.” Social Science Journal 33:39–54.Google Scholar
Durr, Robert H., Gilmour, John B., and Wolbrecht, Christina. 1997. “Explaining Congressional Approval.” American Journal of Political Science 41:175–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erikson, Robert S., Wright, Gerald C., and McIver, John P.. 1993. Statehouse Democracy: Public Opinion and Policy in the American States. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. 1975. “If, as Ralph Nader Says, Congress is ‘The Broken Branch,‘ How Come We Love Our Congressmen So Much?” In Congress in Change: Evolution and Reform, ed. Ornstein, Norman J.. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Hansen, Susan B. 1999a. “Life Is Not Fair: Governors' Job Performance Ratings and State Economies.” Political Research Quarterly 52:167–188.Google Scholar
Hansen, Susan B. 1999b. “Governors' Job Performance Ratings and Unemployment: The Case of California.” State and Local Government Review 31(Winter):7–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lau, Richard R., Sears, David O., and Centers, Richard. 1979. “The ‘Positivity Bias’ in Evaluations of Public Figures: Evidence against Instrument Artifacts.” Public Opinion Quarterly 43:347–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacDonald, Jason A., and Sigelman, Lee. 1999. “Public Assessments of Gubernatorial Performance: A Comparative State Analysis.” American Politics Quarterly 27:201–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacKuen, Michael B., Erikson, Robert S., and Stimson, James A.. 1989. “Macropartisanship.” American Political Science Review 83:1125–1142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller, John E. 1973. War, Presidents and Public Opinion. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Nadeau, Richard, and Niemi, Richard G.. 1999. “Rating the Chancellors and their Budgets.” Political Studies 46:857–876.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, Glenn R., and Davidson, Roger H.. 1979. “Why Do Americans Love Their Congressmen So Much More Than Their Congress?” Legislative Studies Quarterly 4:54–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sigelman, Lee, and Smith, Roland. 1981. “Personal Office and State Characteristics as Predictors of Gubernatorial Performance.” Journal of Politics 43:169–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanley, Harold W., and Niemi, Richard G.. 2001. Vital Statistics on American Politics 2001-2002. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Stimson, James A. 1976. “Public Support for American Presidents.” Public Opinion Quarterly 40:1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stimson, James A. 1991. Public Opinion in America: Moods, Cycles, and Swings. Boulder,Google Scholar