Donald Trump’s approval rating falls below 50 percent in Utah, where voters are split on the Russia investigation

President Donald Trump's approval rating has once again dipped below 50 percent in Utah as the investigation into possible ties between his campaign and Russia continues to hound his first six months in office.

But in a new Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll, respondents were evenly split over whether Russian meddling in the 2016 election is cause for concern.

"It was a little bit of a surprise to me," said Jason Perry, director of the institute.

The timing of the survey, conducted by Dan Jones & Associates from July 18-20, coincided with Republican infighting over health reform, disputes over Trump's travel ban targeting some predominantly Muslim countries and, perhaps most prominently, revelations of Donald Trump Jr.'s conversations with a Russian lawyer — all of which have been attributed to the president's deteriorating standing nationwide.

"But this poll seems to suggest it's not hurting him much in the state," Perry added.

Although the president's favorability waned this month in Utah, it didn't drop dramatically. Some 48 percent of respondents say they somewhat or strongly approve of Trump's job performance while 50 percent disapprove, results that closely tracked with three survey questions on the Russia investigation.

In March, just two months into his term, 54 percent of Utahns viewed Trump positively.

Perry credits the slip to an atmosphere of discord in the nation's capital. But he offers a caveat: Many voters — at least in Utah — aren't assigning all of the blame to the president.

"The reason why I think he's still staying so high [here] is because there's so much noise in Washington, D.C., right now that there is no distinct tune that people are attributing to Trump," Perry said. "When you look at things like health care, people seem to be thinking he's trying to get the Republicans to pass something. And people are looking for Republicans to do it, but not thinking that it's him failing."

The most recent poll numbers, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.95 percentage points, also return to near where Trump's approval rating was in Utah before he took office, which was lukewarm compared to the strong support for past Republican presidents. In early January, 46 percent of registered voters viewed him favorably (about the same percentage that voted for him in the state).

Rob Anderson, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, ascribes some of the shrinking satisfaction for the president to his aggressive rhetoric.

"Utahns are typically a little more sensitive," he said. "[Trump's] not polished. He tweets."

Those who approve of the president are "probably more no-nonsense, whatever-it-takes types," Anderson added.

Still, Utah, a strongly GOP state, ranks Trump higher than he's scored in national polls. His overall approval rating dropped from 42 percent to 36 percent in a recent Washington Post-ABC News survey.

The U.S. intelligence community reported in January that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a cyberassault on the 2016 election with a "clear preference" for Trump.

The president and his administration have vehemently disavowed that conclusion since.

Utahns have mixed feelings on how seriously to take the investigation.

Some 49 percent of the 614 registered voters surveyed are very or somewhat concerned about Russia's interference in the U.S. election, while 50 percent are not very or not at all concerned. Utah Republican Rep. Chris Stewart, a member of the House Intelligence Committee looking into the Russian meddling, has been less equivocal.

In an interview with CNN on July 13, Stewart said while it is true that Russia tried to influence the election, he disagrees that there is "clarity that they preferred one candidate over the other." Stewart has consistently said Russia was trying to sow confusion — not help Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"Once again, the intelligence community is not perfect," Stewart told CNN.

The congressman, in reaction to the revelations that Trump Jr., along with Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, met with a group of Russians, who had purported to have "dirt" on Clinton, said: "There are lots of things about this that are troubling and there are lots of things about this that we have to understand, and the American people deserve answers on this."

The Senate Judiciary Committee that Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee sit on also is probing the matter, though Utahns are again divided. That Trump Jr. and Kushner met with Russian officials is concerning to 48 percent of survey respondents.

Those who lean ideologically to the right reported less worry over ties between the administration and Russia. Just 14 percent of those who identified as "very conservative" compared to 84 percent "very liberal" found the purported connections troubling.

When it comes to investigating the allegations, though, a third of respondents said Utah's congressional representatives were hitting the right tone while another 39 percent say they should be more critical. Those suggesting the probes be less stringent were in the minority at 19 percent.

"Even though Utahns are split on whether or not they believe that there was interference or collusion with Russia," Perry said, "they remain very concerned about our elected officials acting in appropriate ways. Utahns believe in accountability."

ctanner@sltrib.comTwitter: @CourtneyLTanner