PORTLAND (AP) – A telephone survey that tracks what Mainers think of their political leaders has given Gov. John Baldacci a favorability rating of 29 percent, half that of Maine’s two U.S. senators and lower than that of President Bush.

Eighteen months before Baldacci seeks a second term, 37 percent of those surveyed said they had an unfavorable opinion of him, while 34 percent were undecided. The governor’s job approval rating, a separate question from favorability rating, has gone down 18 percent since last fall, according to the survey released Friday.

“I think there’s been a steady erosion of support for the governor,” said MaryEllen FitzGerald, president of Critical Insights, the Portland company that conducted the poll.

Baldacci told reporters that he’s not concerned about the falling numbers, and said they’re not surprising given the tough challenges the state is facing.

“Polls go up and down. They come and go,” he said.

For the survey, Critical Insights called 600 Mainers by telephone from May 12-19 asking their opinions of Bush, Baldacci, Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and U.S. Reps. Tom Allen and Mike Michaud. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Thirty-one percent of Mainers had a favorable opinion of Bush, while 53 percent had an unfavorable opinion, according to the survey.

Snowe was given a favorable rating from 65 percent of the respondents, while 13 percent said they had a negative opinion of her. Fifty-eight percent had a favorable opinion of Collins, while 16 percent had an unfavorable opinion.

Tom Allen’s favorability rating stood at 43 percent, with 17 percent giving him an unfavorable rating. Twenty-nine percent gave Michaud a favorable rating, with 11 percent having an unfavorable opinion.

The survey also gauged Baldacci’s job approval rating, which now stands at 43 percent. That’s the first time since Baldacci became governor that his job approval rating has fallen below his disapproval rating, which came in at 45 percent, the survey said.

Baldacci had a 61 percent job approval rating last fall, and a 54 percent job approval rating a year ago.

FitzGerald said the economy is the No. 1 concern of residents, and that their opinion of Baldacci has fallen with a bleak economic outlook.

The second day into the survey, the Pentagon announced that it was recommending that Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery and a military processing center in Limestone be closed, and that the Brunswick Naval Air Station be realigned.

If the Pentagon’s recommendations are approved, Maine stands to lose up to 12,000 jobs directly and indirectly.

AP-ES-05-27-05 1627EDT

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