New polling numbers released Tuesday show that Gov. Bill Walker's support among Alaskans, even Republicans, is potentially stronger than ever.
Walker's favorability rating among all those polled is 59 percent with only 18 percent unfavorable, while his job approval is 69 percent with only 20 percent disapproval.
When asked who they trust more on the budget, 50 percent of respondents said Walker, while only 26 percent said they trust Alaska Republicans more.
Most surprising is that among Republicans polled 55 percent gave Walker a favorable rating while only 34 percent disapprove.
Polling was conducted by Harstad Strategic Research, Inc. July 19-26 with a sample size of 602 Alaskans that voted in the 2014 election.
The results were exclusively reported on "The Midnight Sun," a new political blog led by blogger Casey Reynolds, former communications specialist for the Republican Party and conservative radio talk show host on KFQD, and Jim Lottsfeldt, whom the site describes as a "long time Alaska all-around politico." Reynolds confirmed that Lottsfeldt commissioned the poll.
In April, a Dittman Research poll showed that Walker had a 54 percent approval rating with only 13 percent disapproval. Many Republican detractors likened it to a "honeymoon period" bump in favorability. However, these new numbers would seem to indicate that his favorability has only gotten stronger after the legislative session, through the special session and revenue option discussions.
Gov. Walker took over a state in a much different position than was predicted in November when the ballots were counted. The price of oil was nearly $80 a barrel on Election Day, and while experts had predicted a drop, and lower revenues due to oil tax changes, nobody expected the price of oil to be where it is today.
The style of the Walker administration has been much different than that of the Parnell administration. The governor has walked out on a few ledges and done things his own way -- as he has been known to do.
Walker has always walked his own path outside of the Republican establishment's boundaries, however, he was completely dismissed from the club when he became an independent, took on Byron Mallott as a running mate and formed the "Unity Ticket."
Gov. Walker won the general election by a margin of 48 percent to 46 percent over incumbent Republican Sean Parnell. Since then, the Republican pundits have been on the constant attack, criticizing nearly every move he's made. When he named his former law partner Craig Richards as attorney general, talk radio pundits opined that it was potentially illegal. The same cries rang out about his appointments to the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation. Of course these same detractors were silent when Gov. Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter to the U.S. Senate seat he vacated.
Walker also called the Legislature back into special session and chastised them for not passing a "fully funded" budget. In the governor's press release announcing the special session, he also said he was "giving the legislature two more chances to pass Medicaid."
It's fairly understandable that Republican pundits and lawmakers are unhappy with Gov. Walker on some level; he has fallen into line with the Democrats on quite a few issues. Most recently he has decided to unilaterally act to accept federal Medicaid funding after the GOP-led Legislature refused.
Despite this steady pipeline of discontent from the right and some of the worst financial conditions faced by any Alaska governor, Walker continues to rise, rather than suffer as one might think would happen.
So what does this poll really say about Alaskans almost a year after the election of an independent governor? Maybe the passionate GOP pundits are wrong. Maybe Alaska is more independent than they would have anyone believe. Really, we always have been.
The "we don't care how they do it Outside" spirit seems to be alive and well in this Harstad poll, which is very refreshing. After all of the partisan bickering and seemingly constant outrage from one side or the other, it's a relief to see Republicans and Democrats come together behind an independent governor that truly seems to have Alaska's best interests at heart.
Nobody knows what the future holds for Alaska, we remain in a questionable financial situation with a legislative majority that refuses to be anything other than obstructionist to the new governor. Whatever happens, polling data over the past year makes it clear where Alaskans, in both parties, stand on Gov. Walker's job performance.
Mike Dingman is fifth-generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former UAA student body president who has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late '90s. Email, michaeldingman@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com