Poll: Utah voters split down middle on Trump’s job performance

Voters in reliably red Utah are split down the middle when it comes to how they view President Trump’s job performance, according to a new poll.

The survey from the Salt Lake Tribune and University of Utah found that 49 percent of respondents said they disapproved of Trump’s job performance, with 48 percent saying they approve. The Tribune noted that this is a “statistical tie,” taking into account “the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.”

{mosads}The new poll was conducted before the five-week long government shutdown came to an end, likely factoring into the polling data.

Among the 604 registered voters in Utah who were survey between Jan. 15 and 24 for the poll, 39 percent said they strongly oppose spending $5.7 billion for the proposed border wall, with 34 percent saying they strongly support it. 

Trump last week agreed to a three-week temporary funding measure as he continues to search for a deal with Democrats to fund his proposed border wall.

Overall, Trump’s approval rating in Utah has held steady since his inauguration, running consistently higher than the national average, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

While Utah is a deep-red state that went heavily for Trump in the 2016 election and has went for a Republican in the last 13 presidential elections, Trump did not win a majority of voters and has not had an approval rating above 50 in the state at any point since the election.

“Utah has seen a slow decline in support for the president, but not nearly the same type of disapproval ratings as with the rest of the country,” Jason Perry, head of the Hinckley Institue at the University of Utah where the poll was conducted, told the Salt Lake Tribune. “Utah Republicans remain strong, voters have not blamed him for the shutdown and this may be shielding the president’s approval ratings from dipping further.”

Utah elected Sen. Mitt Romney (R) in the 2018 midterm elections, and the former presidential candidate has not been afraid to speak out against Trump.

In his first week in D.C., Romney wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post that was deeply critical of Trump.

Still, among respondents who identify as Republican, 41 percent said they still strongly support Trump and 33 percent somewhat approve.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points. It was not indicated whether the poll was conducted online or over the phone.