The new round of Survey USA reports - we noted presidential popularity in the Northwest a few days back - are out, with mostly good news for the area's governors.
The most critical situation is that of Oregon, where Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski has had to deal with low poll approval numbers for some time now. They got especially bad earlier this summer, but now seem on an uptick - 44% approval, 47% disapproval. Not good, but better than where he was, and very close to where he was toward the end of last year.
In Washington, Democrat Christine Gregoire has improved her numbers considerably from the early part of her term; on taking office in January 2005 her approval/disapproval according to SUSA were a horrible 34%/58%. Early this year the lines crossed, however, and excepting one month (June) her favorables have steadily grown. She now stands at 51%/45% - not great, but a lot better than a year ago.
Idaho Governor Jim Risch, in office only since May, has a shorter track record, so you can't really do an analysis based on trend lines. The current snapshot - 53% favorable, 32% unfavorable - is certainly positive enough, though, enough to rank him as the 18th most popular governor in the country. (Gregoire is 31st and Kulongoski 36th.)