A majority of Iowans say the state is headed in the wrong direction, according to the results of a new Iowa Poll published by the Des Moines Register. The poll also found an increase in the number of respondents who disapprove of the work being done by Gov. Kim Reynolds, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst.
This latest poll, conducted by Seltzer & Co. for the Register and Mediacom was the first Iowa Poll to include questions of Rob Sand’s performance as Iowa Auditor. Majorities of both Democrats and Republicans approve of the job being done by Sand, the lone Democrat holding statewide office.
Fifty percent of respondents told the pollster they felt the state was headed in the wrong direction. Only 44 percent felt Iowa was headed in the right direction, and 6 percent said they weren’t sure. The last time the Iowa Poll asked this question was in March 2023. Then, 48 percent believed the state was headed in the right direction, and 44 percent disagreed.
March 2023 was also the last time the Iowa Poll looked at approval ratings for Grassley and Ernst. In that poll, 49 percent of respondents approved of the job Grassley was doing, while 41 percent disapproved. The senior senator’s approval rating has now dropped to 47 percent, while his disapproval number has climbed to 45 percent.
The percentage of Iowans who disapprove of Ernst’s performance in the Senate also increased by four percentage points, from 39 to 43 percent. But unlike Grassley, Ernst saw a small improvement in the number of people who view her work favorably, going from 47 percent in 2023 to 48 percent.
The poll found a softening of support among Republicans for both senators, even though strong majorities of Republicans still approve of both. Among Republicans respondents, approval of Grassley’s performance dropped to 11 percentage points since 2023, and disapproval increased by 12 points. Ernst had a nine-point decline since 2023 in the number of Republican respondents who approved of her performance.
This latest poll found only 49 percent of respondents approve of the job Gov. Reynolds is doing, while 48 percent disapprove. In the March 2023 poll, 51 percent approved of the governor’s job performance, while 46 percent disapproved.
As is the case with Grassley and Ernst, it’s a decline in Republican support that has brought Reynolds’ numbers down.
“Reynolds has lost some of her sheen with Republicans,” poll director J. Ann Selzer told the Register. “Now 76 percent approve, compared to 86 percent last March, which was down from 91 percent in October of 2022.”
The one Iowa elected official who received majority support from both Republicans and Democrats in the new Iowa Poll is Auditor Rob Sand. Overall, 55 percent of respondents said they approved of Sand’s performance in office, while only 15 percent disapproved. Thirty-one percent said they weren’t sure.
The response from Republicans mirrored the overall totals. Fifty-one percent approved of Sand’s performance, while 15 percent disapproved and 34 percent weren’t sure. A majority of Independents, 54 percent, also approved of Sand, as did 67 percent of Democrats.
The poll of 804 Iowa adults was conducted Feb. 25-28. According to Selzer & Co., it has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.
