Gianforte Poll Numbers Steady in Second Term
By Micah Drew for the Daily Montanan
Most Montanans have a positive view of Governor Greg Gianforte in the early months of his second term in office, according to new poll data released Thursday.
Morning Consult surveys conducted from January through March of this year show Gianforte has a 56% approval rating among Montanans, with 34% of respondents disapproving of his job performance.
The Montana Republican Party congratulated Gianforte’s numbers, saying it indicated “strong standing with Republicans, reflecting the trust Montanans have placed in his leadership following his re-election.”
The governor’s proposals have met some resistance in the legislature from more conservative members of his party, while Republican legislators more closely aligned with his agenda were recently censured by the state GOP.
Since being elected in 2020, Gianforte’s approval rating reached a high of 61% during 2021, and hit lows of 49%, most recently during the third quarter of 2024 leading up to his re-election.
Gianforte won his second term in November 2024 over Democrat Ryan Busse by 22 points.
Morning Consult, a political research firm, tracks approval ratings for all 50 state governors throughout their tenure and releases quarterly results.
Gianforte has the 16th highest approval rating among all governors, and seventh highest among Republicans.
Phil Scott, the Republican governor of Vermont, has the highest approval rating from state residents, at 75%, while Kim Reynolds, a Republican from Iowa, has the highest disapproval rating from residents, at 49%.
The Morning Consult’s reported results for gubernatorial approval tracking is based on a three-month roundup of daily surveys, with the latest release reflecting surveys conducted from January through March of 2025. Margins of errors among registered voters vary by state.
If the poll is accurate it's just more confirmation of how far Montana has fallen.