Poll: Cox is the 10th most popular governor in the U.S.

Gov. Spencer Cox has been in office less than a year, but he’s already in the upper fifth of the nation’s governors, according to a recent survey.

Morning Consult says 62% of registered voters in Utah approve of Cox’s job performance, which is the 10th highest among the nation’s governors.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has the highest approval rating at 79%. Nine of the 10 highest-rated governors are Republicans. The lone Democrat is Connecticut’s Ned Lamont, who has 64% approval.

The top-10 governors in order of popularity include Scott, Massachusetts Republican Charlie Baker, Maryland Republican Larry Hogan, New Hampshire Republican Chris Sununu, Wyoming Republican Mark Gordon, West Virginia Republican Jim Justice, Lamont, Alabama Republican Kay Ivey, Ohio Republican Mike DeWine, and Cox.

Oregon Democrat Kate Brown is at the bottom of the list at 43%.

Cox’s 62% approval is one point higher than the highest rating former Gov. Gary Herbert enjoyed since Morning Consult began tracking in 2017. Herbert was at 61% and saw his approval steadily decline to 53% right before he left office in 2020.

Cox’s approval rating is 17 points higher than President Joe Biden’s, which stood at 45% in a recent Economist/YouGov survey. A separate Hill/HarrisX survey put Biden’s approval one point lower at 44%.