Approval rating of Alabama GOP majority continues to rise

While Americans’ trust in government is near a historic low, Alabama’s Republican-controlled legislature is more popular than ever, according to a polling memo that numerous legislators shared with Yellowhammer Thursday.

The Real Clear Politics average of national polls shows Congress’s approval rating hovering around 15%.

According to the McLaughlin & Associates poll, which was commissioned by the House Republican Caucus, 72% of likely GOP primary voters currently approve of the job Republicans are doing in the legislature. That’s a 15% increase since January, when 63% approved.

Legislative bodies typically poll very poorly, and many political insiders suspected Republicans might take a hit in the wake of the very contentious 2013 legislative session. The Alabama Education Association spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking Republican across the state for passing the Alabama Accountability Act, apparently to no avail.

Looking toward 2014, there are several numbers in the McLaughlin poll that give the beleagured Alabama Democrat Party little reason for hope.

Jobs and the economy remain the most important issues to voters. 75% of respondents approve of how Republicans in the state legislature are “creating jobs and improving the economy.”

Voters are also generally happy with their own representative. 70% approve of the job their legislator is doing. That number especially stands out when contrasted with the fierce anti-incumbent sentiment that is pervasive around the country. One reason for this may be that 50% of respondents said their state legislator represents “change.”

But the dagger in the teachers’ union’s heart may be that 60% of those polled said that Republicans are “improving public education.” That’s a tough pill for the AEA to swallow after carpet bombing the state with negative adds aimed specifically at Republican legislators.

“The data is quite encouraging and indicates that we are in a position of strength going into 2014,” House Speaker Mike Hubbard said in an email that several legislators shared with Yellowhammer. “The claims of doom and gloom and voters rejecting what we are doing are simply fiction intended to scare and intimidate us.”

But Hubbard also warned that legislators could not afford to let up now. “We must never be complacent and let our guard down,” he wrote. “I assure you the folks who used to run things are going to do everything they can in 2014 to get control back.”

The McLaughlin poll surveyed 600 likely Republican primary election voters and has an accuracy of +/- 4.0% at a 95% confidence interval.

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