U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s approval rating is at its lowest level since she took office in 1999 and support for the Democratic lawmaker has dropped 11 percent in the past year, a poll released Thursday by the University of Arkansas showed.
The report suggests Lincoln is vulnerable as she seeks a third term in the Senate next year. The university’s poll, however, said that three-fourths of respondents aren’t following news about Lincoln’s re-election bid.
“There’s obviously still room for her numbers to come up and there’s room for the political environment to change but certainly that number and the decrease makes her look vulnerable and can make the noise from her opponents even louder,” said Janine Parry, director of the annual Arkansas Poll.
The poll reported that just 43 percent of Arkansans polled approve of the job Lincoln is doing as senator. She enjoyed a 54 percent approval rating last fall.
The university interviewed 754 Arkansans between Oct. 14 and Oct. 28. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. On average, poll respondents had a higher education level than the state as a whole. The percentage of black respondents was below the state percentage.
Seven Republicans have announced they’re seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Lincoln, and Democratic state Senate President Bob Johnson has said he may run against her in the primary.
Lincoln also saw her highest disapproval rating in the poll since taking office. Thirty-four percent of respondents said they disapproved of the job Lincoln is doing as senator. Last year, only 20 percent of respondents disapproved of her job performance.
Lincoln said she wasn’t concerned about the figures, and blamed the drop in her approval on the heavy campaigning against her by advocacy groups.
“If you’ve been watching the TV, listening to the radio or anything else, I’m getting hit from all sides. People don’t know what to believe,” Lincoln told reporters. “I hope they will continue to know that I’ll continue to fight for Arkansas just like I’ve always done and I’m going to fight to make the right choices.”
Lincoln has faced scrutiny from liberals and conservatives over health care reforms proposed in the Senate, and is viewed as one of several moderates whose support is key for health reform. She met privately with President Barack Obama at the White House Tuesday night to discuss the health care proposals.
Lincoln has said she is opposed to creating a government-run insurance option, but has not said whether she will vote for a proposal backed by Majority Leader Harry Reid that would allow states to choose not to participate in such a program.
The liberal group MoveOn.org this week launched radio ads and a direct mail campaign urging Lincoln to support a public option. One of Lincoln’s Republican rivals, state Sen. Gilbert Baker, flew around the state Thursday to tout his health care proposals.
Baker targeted Lincoln for not saying whether she would support a procedural motion that would move Reid’s proposal to the Senate floor for a vote. Baker said that supporting such a measure would be akin to supporting government-run health care.
Among other results in the poll, Gov. Mike Beebe had a 70 percent approval rating and Sen. Mark Pryor’s was 51 percent, his lowest since entering the Senate in 2003.
Forty-two percent of respondents approved of Obama’s job as president, with 47 percent disapproving.