New Mexico is one of 16 states that gave Donald Trump an approval rating of below 40 percent in 2018 according to the most recent poll by Gallup.
The nationwide poll, conducted throughout 2018 as part of Gallup’s tracking poll, found that just 38 percent of New Mexico voters approved of Trump’s job performance as president, compared to 55 percent who disapproved.
The numbers were actually a slight improvement from 2017, when Trump’s approval rating in New Mexico stood at 25 percent, compared to 59 percent disapproval.
Nationwide, West Virginia gave Trump his highest approval ratings in 2018, at 62 percent. His lowest approval rating was Hawaii, at just 26 percent.
Gallup looked forward to 2020 and Trump’s reelection campaign, noting he must improve his standing in key larger states that he won in 2016. Yet, his approval rating in 2018 stood in the low 40-percent rage, including in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida and Georgia.
“He cannot lose more than one or two of those states and still win the election, particularly because it appears unlikely that he would prevail in any state he did not win in 2016,” according to Gallup’s senior editor Lydia Saad.
The poll surveyed 653 adults in New Mexico. The exact margin of error is not available, but Gallup reports that most states have a +/- 4 percentage point margin of error. Gallup polled both cell phone and landline respondents.