Gianforte Has 44 Percent Approval Rating

Montanans are almost equally split on what they think of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s job performance, according to a new Montana Free Press-Eagleton poll. The survey, which polled more than 800 registered voters in late April and early May, found that 47 percent of respondents disapprove of Gianforte’s job performance, while 44 percent approve and 9 percent said they did not know.

Those numbers were similar to other top Republican elected o_cials’ approval ratings: Republican Sens. Tim Sheehy and Steve Daines also received 47 percent disapproval ratings on their job performance. Sheehy has a 45 percent approval rating and Daines has a 41 percent approval rating. Meanwhile, pollsters found that 49 percent of Montanans approve of President Donald Trump’s job performance, while 48 percent do not.

None of those four Republican elected o_cials are on the ballot this year, but Jessi Bennion, a political science professor at Montana State University, cautioned that low favorability ratings do not always translate to poor electoral outcomes. “None of these are great,” said Bennion. “In this day and age, it’s really hard to get a high approval rating. People just generally aren’t happy with politics.”

That is particularly true in an increasingly polarized society. In Montana, 9 in 10 Democrats and roughly 1 in 10 Republicans disapprove of the governor’s job performance. Independent respondents were more split, with 6 in 10 disapproving and 3 in 10 approving. Meanwhile, half of males approve of Gianforte’s job performance, while 39 percent of females approve, and younger people disapprove more than those over 44.

Asked to respond to the governor’s approval ratings, Sean Southard, a spokesperson for Gianforte, defended the governor with his past winning margins. “In November 2020, Gov. Gianforte was elected as Montana’s 25th governor, earning more votes than any candidate for governor in Montana history and with the largest margin of victory for a first-term governor since 1920,” Southard wrote in an email for this story. “The governor was reelected in 2024 by a wide margin and is the first Republican governor to win a second term since 1996, which speaks louder than any single poll.”

According to the poll, income scales are also closely linked to views on Gianforte’s job performance: higher earners are more likely to approve of the governor’s work. Of those making under $50,000 per year, roughly one third approve of his job performance, a proportion that steadily increased as income ranges rose. Roughly 53 percent of respondents making over $150,000 a year hold a favorable view of his performance.

Jeremy Johnson, a political science professor at Carroll College, attributed that trend to inflation and higher prices on everyday needs like groceries and gas. “The lower income you are, it hits you harder and it may be reflective of that no matter what your political inclinations are,” Johnson said.

One of Gianforte’s chief policy concerns has been cutting income taxes, which he has so far done — with the help of the state legislature — three times over his two terms. About two-thirds of the most recent cuts went to the wealthiest fifth of Montana’s income taxpayers (higher earners already pay more in income taxes).

Bennion explained that some of the increase in favorability could be linked to those tax cuts as wealthy Montanans see what they owe decrease.

In response to the poll results, Southard touted the income tax cuts, as well as property tax reductions and investments in education and behavioral health.

The poll also asked about people’s feelings on the direction the state is headed. More than half — or 54 percent — said it has gone o on the wrong track while 36 percent said it is currently headed in the right direction, and 10 percent said they did not know. The answer to this question also had strong partisan links, as 63 percent of Republicans, 8 percent of Democrats and 24 percent of independents said they have a positive view on the future of the state compared to 27 percent of Republicans, 85 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of independents who thought the state was going in the wrong direction.

The MTFP–Eagleton poll surveyed registered voters in Montana who were invited by text message to complete an online survey. Data was collected from April 29, 2025, to May 7, 2026.