OKLAHOMA CITY – It’s unlikely any other presidential face will join George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt atop Mount Rushmore, but if there were Oklahomans would prefer Ronald Reagan or Donald Trump.
Oklahomans selected Reagan and Trump during a survey conducted by public affairs firm Amber Integrated. The survey, conducted June 24-28, measured voter attitudes toward their elected officials, political issues and current events. The survey involved a pool of 500 registered voters from across the Sooner State.
Among Republican voters, 28.9% preferred Reagan while 28.5% wanted Trump on Mount Rushmore.
“This is another sign that today’s Republican Party is evenly split between Old Guard Conservatives and a new type of populist Republican in the Trump mold,” said Jackson Lisle, a pollster and partner with Amber Integrated.
Twenty-nine percent of those polled responded that “no one” should be added to Mount Rushmore.
On a state level, Gov. Kevin Stitt is the most popular elected official in Oklahoma with an approval rating of 59%, up six points since AI’s March 2021 survey had him at 53%. Stitt’s approval rating among Republicans has grown 10 points since March and by three points among Democrats.
However, the governor’s approval rating among Independents dropped from 60% in April to 49% in June.
U.S. Senator James Lankford’s popularity in Oklahoma has rebounded from 47% in March to 54% in June, with 71% approval among Republicans.
“Any challenge to Lankford in a primary will be an uphill climb,” Lisle said.
It probably comes as no surprise that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are not popular in Oklahoma. Biden stands at a 42% approval rating while Harris is at 40%. Then-President Trump had a 54% approval rating when last polled by AI in December 2020.
AI’s most recent poll also shows COVID-19 is no longer rated as a priority for voters. In a December 2020 voter survey, COVID-19 was listed as the top priority with 29%. That declined to 19% in the March pool and to 8% in the June poll. Only 2% of Republicans ranked it as their top priority.
Issues more important to voters than COVID-19 now include jobs and the economy (33% listed as the No. 1 issue), education (15%), immigration (10%), law and order (8%) and health care (8%).
In a related question, Dr. Anthony Fauci is viewed as almost as polarizing as state and national politicians. Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical advisor to President Biden, has a 42% approval rating while 43% disapprove of him. He is unpopular with Republicans with 57% disapproving of his job performance. Those figures flip among Democrats with 65% approving of him and his work.
Meanwhile, Oklahomans view the media and other Americans as the greatest threat to democracy. Oklahoma voters answered that the media and/or social media companies are the greatest threat (25%) while liberal or left-wing extremists in the U.S. (21.7%) and rival foreign nations like China (21.6%) were next on the list. Conservative or right-wing extremists (16%) were fourth while “something else” was fifth with 13%.
The survey had a margin of error of 4.38%.