Vermont Business Magazine Today, Campaign for Vermont Prosperity (CFV) announced that they had commissioned a bipartisan, scientific public opinion poll of Vermonters. The survey interviewed 400 randomly selected Vermont residents to measure their feelings towards state leaders, various issues that policymakers are pursuing, and general sentiments about the direction the state is heading.
“What we have found is shocking,” said CFV President Pat McDonald “Vermonters have very clear opinions on a number of policy differences between the Administration and the Legislature. And consistently the legislature has missed the mark in setting their priorities.”
The results released today show that 53% of Vermonters believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, while only 35% approve of the state’s direction. When asked how respondents felt about the job Governor Scott is doing representing the issues they cared about, 64% gave a thumbs up, generally reflecting his consistently high opinion ratings.
Conversely, the Legislature received a disapproval rating of 51%. Only 40% said they approved of the job the Legislature is doing, with 30% strongly disapproving. Overall, approval ratings of the Legislature were more than 10 points underwater, compared to Scott’s 34-points above water rating. Also surprising, was a finding that two-thirds of respondents claimed to follow the policies and actions of the Governor and Legislature closely.
“Not only is Governor Scott’s high approval rating remarkable in the face of negative views toward the state’s direction and the Legislature, but Scott pulls off a rare feat in today’s political world of being equally popular among Republicans, Democrats and Independents.” Said Keith Frederick, one of the pollsters involved in the project.
More results will be released by CFV in the coming weeks that will dig into some of the specific policy differences between the legislature and Governor as well as the popularity of some of the top issues the legislature has advanced in recent years.
“There are really some illuminating stories within the results of this project,” said Ben Kinsley, a CFV board member, “we will continue to give everyday Vermonters voice as we release these results.”
Overall, approval ratings of the legislature were over 10 points underwater, compared to Scott’s 34 points above water rating. Two-thirds of respondents claimed to follow the policies and actions of the Governor and Legislature closely.
Methodology:
A bi-partisan team of pollsters conducted a survey of 400 adults (18 years of age and over) in the State of Vermont, from November 14 – 16, 2023. This poll of 400 adults has an accuracy of +/- 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval. The error margin increases for cross-tabulations.
A multi-modal approach was employed via live telephone calls and self-administered text messages. The live telephone interviews were conducted by professional interviewers with respondents contacted by both landline phone and cell phone. The text message respondents were sent a personalized invitation to complete the survey on a secure online platform. Interview selection was random, and interviews were stratified by county, media market, race/ethnicity, age, gender as reported by the United States Census Bureau.
CFV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to the vision of a more prosperous Vermont and a growing middle class. They seek to accomplish these goals by reconnecting Vermonters to their government and advocating for more transparent policy-making.
Source: 11.29.2023. Montpelier, Vermont – Campaign for Vermont Prosperity. The results released today can be found at CampaignForVermont.org.
