Today we announced the partial results of a scientific public opinion poll of Vermonters. The survey interviewed 400 randomly selected Vermont residents to measure their feelings towards state leaders, various issues that policymakers are pursuing, and general sentiments about the direction the state is heading.

“What we have found is shocking. Vermonters have very clear opinions on a number of policy differences between the Administration and the Legislature. And consistently the legislature has missed the mark in setting their priorities.”

-Pat McDonald, CFV President

The results released today show that 53% of Vermonters believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, while only 35% approve of the state’s direction.

Exact Wording: "GENERALLY SPEAKING, WOULD YOU SAY THINGS IN VERMONT ARE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION OR WRONG DIRECTION?"

When asked how respondents felt about the job Governor Scott is doing representing the issues they cared about, 64% gave a thumbs up, generally reflecting his consistently high popularity ratings.

Exact wording: "DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE JOB PHIL SCOTT IS DOING AS GOVERNOR REPRESENTING ISSUES YOU CARE ABOUT?"

“Not only is Governor Scott's high approval rating remarkable in the face of negative views toward the state's direction and the Legislature, but pulls off a rare feat in today's political world of being equally popular among Republicans, Democrats and Independents.”

-Keith Frederick, polling consultant

The legislature, on the other hand, only found 40% approval, with 30% strongly disapproving.

Exact wording: "DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE JOB THE VERMONT STATE LEGISLATURE IS DOING REPRESENTING ISSUES YOU CARE ABOUT?"

Overall, approval ratings of the legislature were over 10 points underwater, compared to Scott’s 34 points above water rating. Also surprising, was a finding that two-thirds of respondents claimed to follow the policies and actions of the Governor and Legislature closely.

“There are really some illuminating stories within the results of this project; we will continue to give everyday Vermonters voice as we release these results.”

-Ben Kinsley, CFV Board Member

More results will be released by CFV in the coming weeks that will dig into some of the specific policy differences between the legislature and Governor as well as investigate the popularity of some of the top issues the legislature has advanced in recent years.

Methodology:

A bi-partisan team of pollsters conducted a survey of 400 adults (18 years of age and over) in the State of Vermont, from November 14 – 16, 2023. This poll of 400 adults has an accuracy of +/- 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval. The error margin increases for cross-tabulations.

A multi-modal approach was employed via live telephone calls and self-administered text messages. The live telephone interviews were conducted by professional interviewers with respondents contacted by both landline phone and cell phone. The text message respondents were sent a personalized invitation to complete the survey on a secure online platform. Interview selection was random, and interviews were stratified by county, media market, race/ethnicity, age, gender as reported by the United States Census Bureau.

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Updated 11/29/2023 @ 9:45pm