Obama Polls Better in Texas than Oregon

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Cornelius Swart, GoLocalPDX Director of Content

President Obama’s job approval rating is higher in super conservative Texas than in Oregon, according to a recent Gallup poll.

See Slides Below: States That Like Obama As Much (Or As Little) As Oregon

Halfway through his second term, President Barack Obama’s job approval rating in Texas is 45.6 percent. That edges out his performance in Oregon by .2 percent, despite the fact the president won Oregon in 2008 and 2012 and lost in Texas both times.

Data journalist and pollster Nate Silver has called out Oregon in the past for its polarized politics of ultraconservatives and far-left liberals. That said, the Beaver State hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office since Gordon Smith won his U.S. Senate seat in 2002.

The president's approval ratings were at 57.6 percent during the honeymoon phase of his presidency back in 2009, according to Gallup. By 2011 Gallup had his approval rating in Oregon down to 44 percent. In Washington State, the president's numbers are about the same.

Despite that, other blue states haven't wavered in their support of the president nearly as much. In California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts, the president’s approval ratings are in the mid-50s or higher, according to Gallup.

Does this mean that Oregon is starting to trend red or that Texas is starting to bubble up blue?

The Gallup results can’t tell us that much. But it's clear the Northwest looks more like the Deep South these days when it comes to the president's approval ratings.