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Andy Beshear in Covington, Ky., on Jan. 4, 2023.
Andy Beshear in Covington, Ky., on Jan. 4, 2023. Patrick Semansky / AP

Kentucky Gov. Beshear gets high job approval marks in new poll

Beshear heads into a re-election year with a 61% approval rating among registered voters in Kentucky.

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A new poll shows Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in a strong position ahead of his re-election in Kentucky later this year, with a high approval rating in the traditionally Republican state.

A survey from Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy released Thursday finds 61% of registered voters approve of Beshear's job as governor. And he leads each potential head-to-head matchup each of the top four GOP contenders. Of those surveyed, 29% disapprove of Beshear.

Beshear's approval rating is on par from the group's Jan. 2022 poll, when it was at 60%, and is up from its Feb. 2021 survey, when he had a 55% approval rating.

The poll also surveyed 404 likely GOP primary voters, and found more than a quarter — 28% — were undecided about who to support.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who former President Donald Trump has endorsed in the race, leads the Republican field at 39%. Kelly Craft, the former ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, has support from 13% of those surveyed, while state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles is at 8% and state Auditor Mike Harmon is at 5%.

The GOP primary is set for May 16.

The poll surveyed 625 registered voters via phone with a mix of landlines and cell phones from Jan. 18-Jan.23, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The survey of likely GOP primary voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.