Poll: Stitt state's most popular elected official, COVID no longer a priority for voters

Amber Integrated Releases Voter Survey Tracking Oklahoma Political Environment

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma-based public affairs firm Amber Integrated has released a survey measuring voter attitudes regarding their elected officials, political issues and current events. This survey was conducted from June 24-June 28, 2021, and included a pool of 500 registered voters in Oklahoma. This survey has a margin of error of 4.38% at a 95% confidence interval. 

Download the survey toplines and graphs here and crosstabs here.

Key findings include:

• Governor Kevin Stitt is the most popular elected official in Oklahoma.

Gov. Stitt has an approval rating of 59%, up six points since our March 2021 survey had him at 53% approval. His approval rating among Republicans has grown by ten points since March (from 70% to 80%) and by 3 points among Democrats (from 27% to 30%). Interestingly, his numbers dropped among independents, moving from a 60% approval rating in April to just 49% approval today.

• Sen. James Lankford has rebounded in popularity since our March poll. 

In March, Sen. James Lankford’s approval rating stood at 47%. Today, Lankford’s approval rating stands at a solid 54%, with 71% approval from Republicans. Any challenge to Lankford in a primary will be an uphill climb.

• President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are unpopular.

No surprise in deep red Oklahoma, but President Biden and VP Harris are not popular. Biden stands at 42% approve / 54% disapprove, while Harris is at 40% approve/ 50% disapprove. For reference, Pres. Trump had a 54% approval rating when last polled by A.I. in December 2020.

• Dr. Anthony Fauci is almost as polarizing as our politicians.

Dr. Fauci has a 42% approval rating and a 43% disapproval rating. He is unpopular with Republicans, with 57% disapproving of his job performance and just 29% approving. That flips among Democrats, 65% of whom approve of Fauci and just 22% of whom say they disapprove of his job performance. 

• COVID no longer rates as a priority for voters. 

In a December 2020 voter survey, COVID was listed as voters’ top priority, with 29% saying it was the most important issue. That declined to 19% in AI’s March poll, and has now fallen to just 8% in June (with just 2% of Republicans ranking it their top priority).

Issues more important to voters than COVID now include:

• Jobs and economy (33% list as #1 issue)
• Education (15% list as #1 issue)
• Immigration (10% list as #1 issue)
• Law and Order (8% list as #1 issue)
• Health care (8% list as #1 issue).

• Trump now ties Reagan for the adulation of Republican voters.

When asked which recent U.S. president should be added to Mount Rushmore, 29% said “none,” 19% said Ronald Reagan, 19% said Donald Trump, and 15% said Barack Obama. Among Republican voters, 28.9% said Reagan vs. 28.5% for Trump, a difference of one respondent.

This is another sign that today’s Republican Party is evenly split between Old Guard Conservatives and a new type of populist Republican in the Trump mold.

• Oklahomans see the media and other Americans as the greatest threat to democracy, not foreign powers.

When asked what the greatest threat to American democracy is today, Oklahoma voters answered:

• “the media or social media companies” (25%), 
• “liberal or leftwing extremists in the U.S.” (21.7%),
• “rival foreign nations like China” (21.6%),
• “conservative or right-wing extremists in the U.S.” (16%)
•  “something else” at 13%.

 

About Amber Integrated:

Amber Integrated is a fully integrated public affairs firm, offering services in lobbying and government relations, political campaign consulting, media relations and communications, digital marketing and advertising, and survey research. Amber Integrated focuses on analytically driven strategies, quantitative research and digitally focused campaigns that deliver successful outcomes for our clients, which include Fortune 500 companies, elected officials, non-profits, and businesses of all sizes.