Since taking office in 2005, Republican Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri has had a bumpy ride in his first term. He started off with a thud by cutting Medicare coverage to nearly 90,000 people, decimating a crucial service to many of his state's most vulnerable citizens. Things were slow to improve for the boy Governor, but the startlingly high disapproval ratings that he attracted throughout 2005 and 2006 have begun to subside a bit, and, for the first time in the last two years of SurveyUSA's monthly polling, he has a net positive approval rating of +2 (48% approve, 46% disapprove).
If Democrats are getting anxious that Blunt may be rehabilitating himself into a second term, they should take comfort by today's SUSA poll gaging support for Blunt's re-election against his likely Democratic challenger, Attorney General Jay Nixon (registered voters; 07/24-07/25):
Jay Nixon (D): 57%
Matt Blunt (R-inc.): 38%
MoE: ±4.4%
So maybe Missouri voters don’t despise Blunt with the same intensity that they did two years ago, but they’re still primed to return the Governor’s office to Democratic control.