Governors’ approval ratings down

Nate Silver points out that Governors across the country are dropping in the polls–and fast. In the last six months, their average approval rating (for the Governors in which the appropriate data points are available) has sunk from 54% to 41%.

Part of this is natural during a recession. Aaron pointed out on Monday that the same is true for Senators:

Almost without exception, and without regard to party, all of them are headed downhill – from Sen. Charles Grassley’s (R-Iowa) 12-point approval drop to Sen. Ron Wyden’s (D-Ore.) six-point drop. Some are dropping faster than others, but each of them has lost approval points or gained disapproval points, and almost all have done both.

But just because this is inevitable doesn’t mean it won’t have consequences. Silver’s take:

Here’s one prediction: at least one serious contender for the Republican nomination in 2012 will be someone newly elected to his or her state’s governorship in 2010. Assuming that the economy has begun to turn around by that point, that person stands to get credit for a recovery that they had little to do with — they will be able to cut taxes or to restore services, and will inevitably be hailed as a genius for having turned a billion-dollar deficit into a surplus. But for gubernatorial incumbents, for whom the opposite dynamics hold, it may be rough sledding ahead. [emphasis added]