JUNEAU -- With the latest poll showing her approval rating at 89 percent, Gov. Sarah Palin may now be the most popular governor in the nation.
A recent public opinion poll taken by Ivan Moore Research showed both Republicans and Democrats in favor of the state's first female governor. The poll comes just two weeks after a separate poll taken by Dittman Research gave Palin a 93 percent approval rating.
While political polling numbers can fluctuate week to week, Palin's numbers have consistently been extremely high, putting her near or at the top among the nation's governors, according to Jennifer Duffy, an analyst at the Cook Political Report, a Washington, D.C.-based research group that closely follows state politics.
"She is only the 14th person in the nation to take out an incumbent governor in a primary. That's about the hardest thing you can do in politics, so she was starting from a good point," Duffy said.
Palin beat then-Gov. Frank Murkowski in last August's Republican primary before winning the general election in November.
"In a lot of ways that was the race, so she started in a good position," Duffy said.
The Ivan Moore poll surveyed 500 people throughout the state on the governor's performance as well as her Alaska Gasline Inducement Act. Fifty percent of those asked said they thought Palin's gas line law would increase the chances of a North Slope pipeline getting built to transport natural gas to the Lower 48. Twenty-one percent of respondents said the gas line law was flawed.
Only 5 percent of those asked said they thought negatively about Palin's work in her six months as governor.
Analysts said Palin's high ratings stem from making good on campaign promises such as getting the gas pipeline legislation passed and promoting a more open government.
"She's managed to communicate well with Alaskans, and that's what popularity is all about," said Randy Ruedrich, the head of the state Republican Party.
The political scandal that erupted this month involving executives from Veco Corp. may have kept her ratings high, said Larry Sabato, a political scientist with the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
Veco's chief executive, Bill Allen, and its vice president, Rick Smith, both pleaded guilty on May 7 to charges of federal conspiracy and bribery. They have since resigned from their jobs.
Three current or former Alaska state lawmakers have been indicted on bribery, extortion and conspiracy charges in the case. Another former legislator was indicted in a separate bribery case.
"She's a woman, anti-establishment and anti-corruption at a time when Alaska is thoroughly embarrassed by the degree of corruption that has been seen by the FBI investigation into lobbyists, business executives and state legislators," Sabato said. "People view her as breath of fresh air."
Palin's ratings in the 80s and 90s are unique but probably unsustainable in the long run, Sabato said.
"You can't please 80 to 90 percent of the people all the time," he said.
Sabato predicted Palin's numbers would fall when she is forced to make her first big, controversial decision.
Palin has in the past dismissed political opinion polls, saying she doesn't rely on them as a gauge of true popular opinion or to get her job done.
Still, her popularity makes it easier to push her agenda, as it was the case with her pipeline bill, AGIA, said David Dittman of the Anchorage research and polling group Dittman Research. Her agenda is also making her more popular, he said.
"People liked the idea of competitiveness, of an open process and not having a pipeline monopoly. They like her, and they like AGIA. So it worked both ways," he said.
Daily News reporter Sabra Ayres can be reached at sayres@adn.com or 1-907-586-1531.
