New polling shows Utah’s top elected officials maintaining positive approval ratings, with Gov. Spencer Cox leading at 54% approval among registered voters. The latest Morning Consult quarterly tracking poll shows varying levels of support for Cox and U.S. Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis, with notable partisan divisions.
Cox's 54% approval rating, coupled with 34% disapproval, gives him a net positive rating of +20. This marks an improvement from the first quarter, when he held a +15 net approval rating (52% approve/37% disapprove).
While Cox is wildly unpopular among Utah Republican delegates, that opposition does not extend to the rest of the party. Nearly three-quarters of Republican voters say they approve of his job performance. However, there is a sharp partisan divide, with Democrats and a plurality of independent voters disapproving of his job performance.
- Republicans - 74% approve/18% disapprove (+56 net approval)
- Democrats - 27% approve/61% disapprove (-35 net approval)
- Independent - 36% approve/42% disapprove (-6 net approval)
Cox’s approval rating is close to the middle of the pack when compared to other governors, as 22 other state leaders have a higher net approval rating. The only governor with an overall negative rating according to the Morning Consult poll is Iowa Republican Kim Reynolds, who has a net approval of minus 7.
Sen. Mike Lee maintains a net-positive approval rating despite support from less than half of Utah voters. The Morning Consult polling found 49% of Utahns say they approve while 36% disapprove, giving Lee a net-positive approval of +13. Those numbers are essentially unchanged from the previous quarter when 49% approved and 35% disapproved.
Like Cox, Lee is wildly popular among Republican voters but viewed negatively by Democrats and voters who are not part of any political party.
- Republicans - 71% approve/15% disapprove (+56 net approval)
- Democrats - 20% approve/69% disapprove (-49 net approval)
- Independents - 27% approve/50% disapprove (-23 net approval)
There is a slightly different pattern in the results for Sen. John Curtis, who moved from the U.S. House to the Senate in January. Curtis has the highest net approval rating at +26, with 51% of voters saying they approve of the way he’s handling his job compared with only 25% disapproval.
While all three get strong support from Republican voters, Curtis seems to have a broader appeal than Cox and Lee. His +11 net approval among independents contrasts sharply with Cox’s -6 and Lee’s -23 among that same group. Curtis also faces less intense opposition from Democrats, with a -28 net approval, compared to Cox’s -35 and Lee’s steeper -49.
- Republicans - 68% approve/13% disapprove (+55 net approval)
- Democrats - 28% approve/55% disapprove (-28 net approval)
- Independent - 37% approve/26% disapprove (+11 net approval)
