Pubdate: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 2000 Albuquerque Journal Contact: P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103 Website: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Author: Loie Fecteau GOVERNOR'S APPROVAL RATING RISES Gov. Gary Johnson's popularity has rebounded some, but it's still not as high as it was before he launched a national push to legalize marijuana and change other drug laws, a Journal poll found. "Johnson's favorability rating is back up above his unfavorability rating," said Brian Sanderoff of Research and Polling Inc., which conducted the poll. "The bad news for the governor is less than half of the registered voters in New Mexico approve of his job performance," Sanderoff said. Forty-six percent of the New Mexico voters surveyed statewide said that, generally speaking, they approved of the Republican governor's job performance. That's up 11 percentage points from a Journal poll in March, but it's still down from earlier polls in which a majority of voters approved of Johnson's job performance. Forty-one percent of voters surveyed in the latest Journal poll said they disapproved of Johnson's job performance, while 13 percent were undecided or had mixed feelings. The March poll found Johnson's popularity had plummeted nearly 20 points over the previous year and that, for the first time since he took office in 1995, his disapproval rating had risen above his approval rating. Johnson's approval rating dropped from 54 percent in April 1999 to 35 percent in March 2000. Johnson, among others, attributed his nose dive in the March poll to his controversial and widely publicized national push to legalize drugs. Johnson, who is nearing the midway point of his second four-year term as the state's chief executive officer, has said this is his last elective office. "There's little reason to doubt that the governor's plummeting approval rating (in March) was attributable to his position on drug reform and all the local, state and national publicity he received," Sanderoff said. In the March survey, 68 percent of registered voters polled said Johnson's proposal that drugs such as marijuana and heroin should be legal was a bad idea. Johnson has since backed off legalizing heroin. Instead, he now advocates treatment and prevention programs for heroin addicts in place of jail. The latest poll indicates Johnson's views on drug reform probably still hurt him among voters in his own political party, Sanderoff said. "One in four Republicans disapprove of Governor Johnson's job performance, which was not the case in past years," Sanderoff said. "But, overall, he's on the rise again." Fifty-five percent of Republican voters polled in the new survey said they approved of Johnson's job performance, while 24 percent disapproved and 21 percent were undecided. Fifty-three percent of Democratic voters surveyed said they disapproved of Johnson's job performance, while 38 percent approved. Nine percent were undecided or had mixed feelings. Johnson's actions during the Cerro Grande Fire in Los Alamos during May might have helped repair his popularity ratings, Sanderoff said. Johnson was widely praised for remaining on the scene in Los Alamos for 55 straight hours during the blaze, which destroyed the homes of 400 families and individuals. "He was really at the forefront of the Los Alamos fires and received a lot of favorable publicity for that," Sanderoff said. "And perhaps some people have become more accustomed to his stance on drug reform and are seeing past that one issue and cutting him some slack." Johnson's popularity in the latest poll was highest among younger voters and worst among older voters: 59 percent of voters between the age of 18 and 34 approved of his job performance, while 55 percent of those 65 and older disapproved. Fifty-one percent of Hispanics disapproved of Johnson's job performance, while 35 percent approved. Among Anglos, 50 percent approved and 37 percent disapproved. The Journal poll was conducted Sept. 7-13 and is based on telephone interviews with 411 registered voters statewide who said they were likely to vote in the Nov. 7 general election. The survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens