Spiking gas prices and economic uncertainty are taking a toll on President Donald Trump’s popularity in Utah, as a new poll shows his support tumbling and most of the reliably Republican state disapproving of the job he is doing.
Gov. Spencer Cox’s approval rating has also dropped precipitously, the same poll found.
At this time last year, 54% of Utah voters approved of the job Trump was doing. Six months ago, his approval and disapproval were even. But the survey this month by Noble Predictive Insights found that 43% approve of the president’s performance, while 54% disapprove.
Just 39% approve of his handling of the economy, compared to 57% who disapprove.
For Cox, the percentage of voters who think the governor is doing a good job dropped from 56% a year ago to 42% today.
The poll of 602 registered voters was conducted Sept. 8-12, with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.
Voters generally support Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s resistance to the Trump administration’s demands that she turn over voter records to the Justice Department. The poll found 54% support Henderson’s refusal to provide the records, while 27% are opposed.
The Justice Department is suing the lieutenant governor and elections officials in 29 other states, demanding they provide unredacted information on registered voters, contending the information is needed to uncover voter fraud.
So far, no court has sided with the administration’s demands.
Henderson is also under a potential criminal investigation for refusing to comply, the department informed her in a letter first obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune earlier this month.
Voters are split on the job the Utah Legislature is doing, with 40% approving and the same percentage disapproving.
Six weeks from the midterm election, 46% of Utahns say the economy and cost of living is the issue most on their minds, while 16% say it is the cost of housing and another 16% say it is water and drought.
“Cost of living is the common denominator,” said Mike Noble, founder and CEO of Noble Predictive Insights. “But after that, younger voters are thinking much more about housing, while older voters are more focused on water and the Great Salt Lake.”
The percentage of voters who believe Utah is on the right track dropped by five percentage points to 52%. And 45% of those surveyed say they plan to vote for the Republican congressional candidate in November, compared to 25% who favor the Democrats.

Robert Gehrke