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A new poll shows Republican governors winning higher approval from voters than their Democratic counterparts less than one year out from the midterm elections.

The Morning Consult poll released Thursday found that of the 16 most popular governors in America, 14 of them are Republicans.

GOP governors leading Democratic-leaning states earned especially high approval ratings. Four Republicans in states won by President Joe Biden in 2020 top the list.

Governors Phil Scott of Vermont, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Larry Hogan of Maryland all have an approval rating of above 70 percent, the poll found. Biden easily won those three states with at least 65 percent of the vote.

Cameron Easley, senior editor at Morning Consult, told Newsweek in an interview Saturday afternoon that voters in these states give their Republican governors such high approval ratings because they view them as a "hand break" on their liberal state legislatures. He also pointed out that all three have been vocally critical of Trump.

"They're just kind of happy to have some kind of Republican executive who can serve as a check for an extremely liberal legislature," he said.

Easley also said that while Scott, Baker and Hogan enjoy wide popularity in their home states, they aren't likely to be viable in a presidential election because they are too moderate for the broader Republican electorate.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has an approval rating of 67 percent in a state Biden won by about seven points, according to the poll.

Other Republican state leaders with high approval ratings include Mark Gordon of Wyoming; Jim Justice of West Virginia; Kay Ivey of Alabama; Mike DeWine of Ohio; Spencer Cox of Utah; Doug Burgum of North Dakota; Greg Gianforte of Montana; Kristi Noem of South Dakota; Eric Holcomb of Indiana; and Mike Dunleavy of Alaska. They represent either solidly GOP or Republican-leaning states.

Only two DemocratsConnecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Rhode Island Governor Dan McKeebroke the top 16, according to the poll.

Three DemocratsMaine Governor Janet Mills, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphyas well as Republican Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson round out the 20 most popular governors, the poll found.

Of the five governors with the lowest approval rating, fourOregon Governor Kate Brown, Hawaii Governor David Ige, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, and New York Governor Kathy Hochulare Democrats. Republican Doug Ducey of Arizona has the second lowest approval rating at 44 percent, according to the poll.

Easley warned against drawing too many conclusions about the 2022 midterm elections from the poll, noting that congressional elections are tied to national issues, while gubernatorial races often focus on local issues.

"The vast majority of these folks are over 50 percent, and I think that's largely a function of state and local politics generally being far less divisive and toxic than our national political scene," he said. "When you're talking about the midterm elections, you're much more tied closely to that kind of national dynamic than that state level dynamic."

Several GOP governors have distanced themselves from former President Donald Trump in recent months, opting to focus on local, rather than national, politics as they seek re-election, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Some Republican governors are facing primary opponents from Trump-alligned Republicansincluding Charlie Baker in Massachusetts, whose opponent is endorsed by Trump.

Former Vice President Mike Pence told the Republican Governors Association that he would support incumbents according to the Journal.

The poll comes less than a year out from the midterm elections, when several governors are up for re-election.

Bolstered by Biden's relatively low approval rating, Republicans are hoping to win back not only governorships in key states but to pick up enough House and Senate seats to win control of Congress.

Other polls have found that Republicans appear to be well-positioned to do so. One released last week found that 51 percent of voters said they would vote for Republicans in congressional elections.

Update 11/20/21, 3:51 PM ET: with comments from Morning Consult's Cameron Easley.

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14 of the 16 Most Popular Governors Are Republicans - Newsweek

Republicans have seized in particular on a March 2020 commission vote lifting a rule that required special voting deputies trained and dispatched by municipal clerks offices to visit nursing homes twice before issuing absentee ballots to residents. The special voting deputies, like most other visitors, were barred from entering nursing homes early in the pandemic, and the commission reasoned that there was not enough time before the April primary election to require them to be turned away before mailing absentee ballots.

The vote was relatively uncontroversial at the time: No lawsuits from Republicans or anyone else challenged the guidance. The procedure remained in place for the general election in November.

But after Joseph R. Biden Jr. won Wisconsin by 20,682 votes out of 3.3 million cast, Republicans began making evidence-free claims of fraudulent votes cast from nursing homes across the state. Sheriff Christopher Schmaling of Racine County said the five state election commissioners who had voted to allow clerks to mail absentee ballots to nursing homes without the visit by special voting deputies as is prescribed by state law should face felony charges for election fraud and misconduct in office.

Robin Vos, the Republican speaker of the State Assembly, who represents Racine County, quickly concurred, saying that the five commissioners including his own appointee to the panel should probably face felony charges.

The commissioners have insisted they broke no laws.

Ann Jacobs, a Democrat who is the commissions chairwoman, said she had no regrets about making voting easier during the pandemic and added that even my Republican colleagues were afraid about the future of fair elections in the state.

We did everything we could during the pandemic to help people vote, she said.

Mr. Johnson a two-term senator who said he would announce a decision on whether to seek re-election in the next few weeks is lobbying Republican state legislators, with whom he met last week at the State Capitol, to take over federal elections.

The State Legislature has to reassert its constitutional role, assert its constitutional responsibility, to set the times, place and manner of the election, not continue to outsource it through the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Mr. Johnson said. The Constitution never mentions a governor.

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Wisconsin Republicans Push to Take Over the States Elections - The New York Times

ByAllen Guelzo, Ph.D.,Gettysburg CollegeOnce the treaty with Britain, which came to be known as John Jays treaty, was received by the American government, there was a fear that there would be an explosive reaction. But, the actual proceedings in the Senate were comparatively tame. Federalists held a safe majority there, and the Senate took only two weeks of debate before advising and consenting to Jays Treaty on June 24. The real explosion came once the Senate adjourned and unsympathetic anti-treaty senators released their copies of the treaty to the newspapers.The decision of Washington to resign after his second term gave impetus to the Republican party, which gained ground in the uproar following the Jay Treaty. (Image: George Washington/Public domain)Electrifying News

Benjamin Franklin Baches Aurora hit the streets of Philadelphia with an abstract of the treaty on June 29, followed by a 25-cent pamphlet version of the full text, and from there wrote Madison it flew with an electric velocity to every part of the Union.

Electric was putting it mildly. A Fourth of July parade in Philadelphia turned into a protest riot; on July 18, a mob in New York City burned a copy of the treaty on John Jays front door, and when Alexander Hamilton offered to debate the treaty publicly, he was greeted with a volley of stones. Another public meeting in Philadelphia on July 25 featured Blair McClenachan announcing, What a damned treaty. I make a motion that every good citizen kick this damned treaty to hell.

Learn more about the reaction to Jays Treaty.

It did not help, either, that Washington was delaying putting his signature to the treaty. He had been advised by Edmund Randolph, the Secretary of State, that a new order in Council had been issued which contradicted the treatys 12th article. Washington could not bring himself to sign the treaty until the British assured him that this new order would be revoked.

What Washington did not know was that Randolph had been passing information on to the French minister in Philadelphia. But the French diplomatic correspondence was itself intercepted at sea by the British, and the incriminating revelation of Randolphs duplicity was put into the hands of Washingtons Secretary of War, Timothy Pickering. He met with Washington on August 11 to unveil what the French called the precious confessions of Mr. Randolph.

Thus, on August 18, Washington signed the treaty, and the following day, he personally accused Randolph of treachery and demanded his resignation. The wind went out of the anti-treaty sails with Randolphs exposure, and the Storm, which the business of the treaty threatened to raise, seemed to be blown over.

This is a transcript from the video seriesAmericas Founding Fathers.Watch it now, on Wondrium.

The elections of 1792 were the first intimation of a struggle betweenthe Treasury department and the republican interest; the Democratic-Republican societies of 1794 were a much clearer sign that Americans would cheerfully abandon self-denying public-spiritedness in exchange for organizing in their own self-interest.

The existence of two parties in Congress are apparent, warned Colonel John Taylor in a pamphlet that he published in the spring of 1794, A Definition of Parties, orThe Political Effectof the paper System Considered. The uproar over the Jay Treaty only gave party polarization an unlooked-for boost.

A month after signing the Jay Treaty, Washington released an announcement that he would retire from the presidency in March 1797. This only set off the party race even harder. But the final thread was sewn in the spring of 1796, when the anti-treaty members of Congress, now calling themselves simply Republicans, held their own caucus to endorse candidates for the upcoming presidential election.

Learn more about Jeffersons party.

The principal Republican candidate, it was clear, would be Thomas Jefferson. Since the Constitution mandated that presidential electors vote for two candidates, the caucus supplied a second name from its newer ranks, Aaron Burr of New Jersey. And as if to point up still more new ways for a party to organize, a new cadre of campaign promoters and managers volunteered for election service.

In Pennsylvania, John Beckley a disciple of Jeffersons sowed 50,000 Republican ballots and handbills across Pennsylvania, urging the friends of the people, who love liberty to go to the polls on November 4 and elect fifteen good Republicans as presidential electors who will vote for a republican President. Meanwhile, Philadelphias John Smith, a hatter by trade undertook and performed an election campaign of 600 miles.

But what was sauce for the goose was sauce for the gander. The Federalist majority in Congress held their own caucus, and produced their own nominees for the presidency: John Adams, the sitting vice-president, and Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina. What was more, Adams enjoyed the blessing of Washington.

But balanced against Washingtons prestige was the tumult over the Jay Treaty, and one member of the Federalist caucus, William Bingham of Pennsylvania, warned Rufus King, who was now American minister to Great Britain, that The friends of Mr. Adams may calculate on a majority in his favor, but so small, that on so momentous an occasion, it would be risking too much to trust entirely thereto. And when the electoral votes were counted on February 8, 1797, it turned out to have been a near-run thing after all. Adams won 71 votes in the electoral college, but Pinckney had tallied only 59. Sixty-eight had gone to Jefferson, thus making the two loggerhead opponents president and vice-president, in what would turn out to be the most unequally-yoked presidential administration in American history.

The public reaction to the Jay treaty was one of anger followed by violent protests. Copies of the treaty were burnt, riots broke out in some places, and people publicly reviled the treaty as probably the worst one in the history of the United States.

It was revealed to Washington that Edmund Randolph, who was advising him not to sign the treaty, was collaborating with the French. Upon realizing this, Washington called for a discussion and confirmed his intention to sign the treaty.

The presidential elections of 1797 were the first time when there were distinct parties, who held independent caucuses to select their own candidates. One party called themselves the Republicans who fielded Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The Federalists fielded Adams and Pinckney.

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The Republican Campaign: The Fallout of Jay's Treaty - The Great Courses Daily News

Republican senators are expressing shock and disbelief that conservative allies of former President TrumpDonald TrumpPennsylvania's GOP-controlled Senate to spend up to 0K on election investigation Trump congratulates Rittenhouse on acquittal The Memo: Rittenhouse verdict reverberates across polarized nation MORE in the House threatened to strip colleagues who voted for the $1 trillion infrastructure bill of their committee assignments.

The incredulous reactions of Republican senators to a motion filed in the House to boot Rep. John KatkoJohn Michael KatkoLawmakers increasingly anxious about US efforts against Russian hackers GOP senators appalled by 'ridiculous' House infighting House votes to censure Gosar and boot him from committees MORE (N.Y.) from his position as the top-ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee because of his vote for the infrastructure bill reveal the chasm that is opening up between the Senate and House GOP conferences.

While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellOvernight Defense & National Security Presented by Boeing Senate punts on defense bill On The Money House Democrats pass Biden's big bill The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by ExxonMobil - House to vote on Biden social spending bill after McCarthy delay MORE (R-Ky.) has created something of a bulwark against Trumps complete takeover of the Republican Party, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthyKevin McCarthyOvernight Health Care Presented by Emergent Biosolutions Boosters for all Overnight Energy & Environment House passes giant climate, social policy bill On The Money House Democrats pass Biden's big bill MORE (R-Calif.) has made public shows of loyalty to the former president and done little to rein in the most rambunctious and provocative pro-Trump conservatives in his conference.

The starkly different attitudes among Senate and House Republicans were laid bare this week when Trumps allies in the lower chamber made a push to punish the 13 GOP colleagues who voted for infrastructure legislation by threatening their committee assignments.

The calls for retaliation are coming from a small number of conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus and are unlikely to result in lawmakers actually being kicked off committees, but the fact that theres even a serious discussion of it is causing heartburn.

Senate Republicans warn that taking such a drastic step against fellow Republicans over a good-faith policy disagreement would be foolish and dangerous to the long-term health of the party.

Thats absolutely nuts, Sen. Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyBiden says he's 'considering' a diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics GOP senators appalled by 'ridiculous' House infighting In dramatic shift, national intelligence director does not rule out 'extraterrestrial' origins for UFOs MORE (R-Utah) said of talk in the House of stripping Republicans who voted for the infrastructure bill of their committee seats.

The infrastructure bill was bipartisan. It was voted for by Mitch McConnell, he said, arguing that it will now be tougher for Democratic leaders to persuade centrists such as Sen. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinOvernight Energy & Environment House passes giant climate, social policy bill Equilibrium/Sustainability Presented by Southern Company Climate crisis driving child marriages: report Biden hails House passage of key piece of his domestic agenda MORE (D-W.Va.) to vote for a bigger climate and social spending bill because funding for popular hard infrastructure priorities moved separately.

Republicans were smart to support it, insisted Romney, who was one of 19 Senate Republicans who voted for the infrastructure legislation.

Sen. Richard ShelbyRichard Craig ShelbyGOP senators appalled by 'ridiculous' House infighting The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by ExxonMobil - House Democrats eye big vote on Biden measure Democrats scramble to figure out shutdown strategy MORE (Ala.), the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the threatened retaliation against House Republicans draconian.

Shelby, who has served in Congress since 1979, opposed the infrastructure bill, joining most of his GOP colleagues in voting against the legislation in August.

But he said hed never heard talk about stripping a lawmaker of a committee assignment because of how he or she cast a vote on a particular piece of legislation.

Another Senate Republican who voted for the infrastructure bill called talk of meting out punishment against House colleagues who voted for the bill ridiculous.

Thats utterly, utterly ridiculous, and McCarthy ought to squelch that, the lawmaker said. They dont have caucus discipline.

McCarthy has referred a motion by Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, to oust Katko as the top-ranking Republican on the Homeland Security panel to the House GOP Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee can refer the motion to the full 213-member House Republican Conference for a vote or ignore it.

Katko told The Hill on Wednesday afternoon that he didnt know what would happen with the motion.

Senate Minority Whip John ThuneJohn Randolph ThuneMcConnell, Schumer hunt for debt ceiling off-ramp The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by ExxonMobil - Gosar censured as GOP drama heightens US may default before Christmas if debt ceiling isn't raised: analysis MORE (R-S.D.), who also voted against the infrastructure bill, warned that retaliating against fellow Republicans who vote for things they believe are in the best interests of their constituents is a dumb move.

Thats just not a smart thing to do, he said. Retaliatory actions like that, I think, are counterproductive in the long run.

We have that situation over here once in a while where somebody votes for something and its disappointing to us but the most important vote is always the next vote, not the last vote, he added.

Senate Republican leaders suffered a huge disappointment in 2017, when moderate Sens. Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiThree female senators call NYT coverage of Sinema's clothes 'sexist' GOP senators appalled by 'ridiculous' House infighting The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by ExxonMobil - House Democrats eye big vote on Biden measure MORE (R-Alaska), Susan CollinsSusan Margaret CollinsThree female senators call NYT coverage of Sinema's clothes 'sexist' Overnight Defense & National Security Presented by Boeing US mulls Afghan evacuees' future GOP senators appalled by 'ridiculous' House infighting MORE (R-Maine) and John McCainJohn Sidney McCainGOP senators appalled by 'ridiculous' House infighting MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace, Chris Christie battle over Fox News Trump's attacks on McConnell seen as prelude to 2024 White House bid MORE (R-Ariz.) voted with Democrats to defeat legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which was a top Republican priority.

But there was no talk whatsoever in the wake of that vote of punishing those lawmakers.

And the show of respect paid off a few months later when all three Republicans voted to narrowly pass Trumps Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 51 to 49.

Collins also helped give Trump a major win when she cast a key vote to confirm his second nominee to the Supreme Court, Brett KavanaughBrett Michael KavanaughRace is not central to Rittenhouse case but the media shout it anyway GOP senators appalled by 'ridiculous' House infighting Joy Reid compares Kyle Rittenhouse's 'male white tears' to Justice Kavanaugh's MORE, after a rancorous confirmation proceeding during which she came under heavy pressure to vote no.

Senate Republicans say the bitter infighting among House Republicans raises serious concerns about their future ability to govern if they win back control of the lower chamber in the 2022 midterm elections, which political handicappers now say is a likely prospect.

Thune said the 13 Republicans facing punishment will be with the Republican conference over there on most issues and if you start isolating and singling out individual votes, its not going to be conducive to having a united majority in the long run on issues where you really need it.

Sen. Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanOvernight Defense & National Security Presented by Boeing US mulls Afghan evacuees' future Hillicon Valley Presented by Ericsson DOJ unveils new election hacking charges GOP senators appalled by 'ridiculous' House infighting MORE (R-Ohio), who led the group of centrist Republicans who negotiated the bipartisan infrastructure bill and who attended a signing ceremony at the White House on Monday, said the bill would have been much different if it didnt have any Republican input.

Im hesitant to get involved in House politics, but I think thats a very bad direction if they go that way, he said of the prospect of GOP lawmakers losing committee assignments or being punished in other ways for supporting more funding for roads, bridges, airports, public transit and expanded access to broadband internet.

People voted for the legislation because it was in the interests of their constituents. Its very popular back home. If you take that approach that youre going to punish people for voting for whats in the interest of the people they represent, you may end up with real problems, he said.

Senate Republicans see the backlash against colleagues who voted for the infrastructure bill as being driven primarily by Trump, who on Wednesday released an invective-filled statement bashing Republican lawmakers for giving President BidenJoe BidenPennsylvania's GOP-controlled Senate to spend up to 0K on election investigation Biden's pick for Arizona's US Attorney confirmed by Senate Overnight Health Care Presented by Emergent Biosolutions Boosters for all MORE a major policy accomplishment.

Mitch McConnell couldnt stop the first Bill so 19 Senators, including himself, joined in. Thats what he does if you cant beat them, join them, Trump fumed in his statement.

But McConnell says he has no regrets about supporting the legislation, which he called a godsend for his home state.

He argued that Republicans improved the bill by taking the Democrats proposed tax increases off the table and not touching the 2017 tax cuts.

From my Kentucky point of view, it was extremely good for our state. Im proud of my vote, he said.

Scott Wong contributed.

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GOP senators appalled by 'ridiculous' House infighting | TheHill - The Hill

Minnesotas top coronavirus official met with the states top Republican for the first time Friday afternoon in a Zoom call that could have ramifications for the states COVID response.

The ultimate impact remained unclear of the private meeting between Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm and Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, R-Winona. Miller came into the leadership post in September and can wield heavy influence in determining if the Republican controlled Senate will allow Malcolm to keep her job.

Miller described the meeting as productive, and a Malcolm spokesman said the pair discussed a range of COVID-related matters.

Malcolm was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, three years ago. As the pandemic response has become politically polarized, Malcolms tenure or a potential end to it at the hands of Republicans has become a central obstacle to progress in a series of changes to state laws and regulations generally agreed upon by member of both parties.

Those changes include a suite of waivers that would allow flexibility to bring on more staff for hospitals, long term care centers, home health care programs and day care centers. In addition to having the support of Walz, Miller and other elected officials, leaders from those sectors have asked state officials for the changes. Little has happened, though, since Walz proposed them Oct. 6.

Miller and several other top Republicans have declined to say whether they favor sacking Malcolm, whose recommendations throughout the pandemic have generally been in lockstep with public health and infectious disease leaders worldwide. Leading into the meeting, Miller said one of his goals with Malcolm was to relate the concerns of constituents of his and other lawmakers, especially Republicans, whose residents have become increasingly opposed to the top-down feel of edicts from Walz, Malcolm and other leaders.

Miller issued the following statement Friday:

I appreciated the opportunity to meet with Commissioner Malcolm this afternoon. The conversation was productive, and its my hope this will be a starting point for improved collaboration with the Governor and his administration.

A spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health released the following statement:

Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm shared with Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller an update today on the status of the pandemic in MN and the extraordinary actions the Department of Health is taking to slow the spread of COVID-19, support our significantly strained hospital and long term care systems and make it as easy as possible for Minnesotans to get vaccinated or get their booster shots as quickly as possible. The two also discussed her extensive public health experience and expertise,and the Commissioner talked with the Majority Leader about the importance of working together on a number of legislative items that would help address hospital and long-term care capacity concerns.

Commissioner Malcolm provides all 201 legislators regular briefings on the COVID pandemic and the response and looks forward to continuing to work with the Majority Leader and Legislature to address the current state of the pandemic.

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MN health commissioner and top Republican have productive meeting - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press