Yes, Virginia, you are pretty happy with your legislature

A recent Quinnipiac University poll of Virginians has residents generally happy with the direction of state government – making us sort of one-of-a-kind in that respect.

The only state legislature in the nation to get a positive approval rating from its residents is the Virginia General Assembly. According to the Quinnipiac poll, 47 percent of Virginians approve of the job being done by the Virginia state legislature, with 35 percent expressing disapproval.

“My colleagues and I work hard to understand the diverse issues facing Virginia and fix our problems with commonsense, forward-looking solutions. There can be no greater reward in this job than to see that the Commonwealth approves of the work we are doing for them here in Richmond,” said Speaker of the House Bill Howell, R-Stafford.

Virginia has split control of its General Assembly among the two major parties. Republicans have a majority in the House of Delegates, with Democrats in the majority in the State Senate.

“By more than 3-1, Virginians are happy with what’s going on in the state compared to the country and this optimism shows in their views of state politicians. All statewide elected officials, and even the State Legislature, get thumbs up for their job performance. In these tough times that is pretty remarkable,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Only 2 percent of Virginians polled were “very satisfied” with the overall direction of the nation, while an additional 17 percent of Virginians indicated they were “somewhat satisfied” with the direction of the nation. In contrast, 10 percent are “very satisfied” with Virginia’s direction and 56 percent are “somewhat satisfied” with the direction of the Commonwealth.