Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy delivers his budget address to the senate and house inside the Hall of the House at the State Capitol, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, in Hartford, Conn. While acknowledging the state’s economy continues to recover, Malloy told a joint session of the General Assembly that “significant investment” is still needed to improve highways, bridges and rail over the next three decades to improve economic development and quality of life.
The second honeymoon Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, the toast of national Democrats last November for his re-election in a Republican year, appears to be over.
Malloy’s approval rating has sunk to 43 percent in a new Quinnipiac University poll, dragged down by his austerity plan, billion-dollar deficits and proposed budget cuts that critics say will fray the social safety net in Connecticut.
“Gov. Dannel Malloy starts his second term in the hole,” Douglas Schwartz, the poll’s director, said in a statement Wednesday.
Malloy’s office gave its company line about the governor’s approval rating, which was 48 percent last May.
“We don’t comment on polls. They go up, they go down, but we’re focused on smart decisions today for a brighter Connecticut tomorrow,” Malloy spokesman Devon Puglia told Hearst Connecticut Media Wednesday.
Malloy’s approval rating is 64 percent among Democrats, 45 percent among women and 48 percent in the 18 to 34-year-old age bracket, according to the poll, which surveyed 1,235 registered voters from March 6 to March 9. It’s margin of error was plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
“When a Democrat scores only 64 percent among Democrats and is under 50 percent among the base, women and young people, you know he is in trouble,” Schwartz said.
Malloy, who was sworn-in to a second term in January after winning a rematch against Republican Tom Foley, got low marks for his handling of the state’s economy and tax policies in the poll.
More unpopular than Malloy is the prospect of Connecticut bringing back highway tolls after a 30-year absence, with 61 percent of respondents to the poll saying they opposed efforts by some lawmakers to generate additional revenues for the state through tolls.
At the same time, 59 percent of respondents would support highway tolls if the money is used to repair the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.
While a majority of respondents (62 percent) said that legal gambling is good for the state, 75 percent opposed building another casino.