Parnell nails 81% approval

About three months into the job, Gov. Sean Parnell is earning remarkable approval ratings in a new poll by Dittman Research and Communications.

A whopping 81 percent of people surveyed in the poll of Anchorage residents said Parnell is doing a good or very good job. That's not quite as high as former Gov. Sarah Palin's unprecedented high popularity in the months after she was elected in 2006, but it's close.

The former lieutenant governor, a Republican, announced last week he plans to run for the state's top job in 2010.

The same poll, conducted among 274 people, offers findings on several other politicians as well.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican up for re-election next year but so far facing no challenger, is doing a good or very good job according to 64 percent of those surveyed.

Also up for re-election next year is long-time Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young. People polled who will also be voting in the Republican primary gave him 45 percent of the vote, compared to 41 percent for challenger Andrew Halcro. State Rep. Harry Crawford, a Democrat, is hoping to oust Young from his stronghold.

And while Alaska's junior Sen. Mark Begich isn't racking up a hugely favorable ranking, the recent uproar into the City of Anchorage's financial situation likely hurt. Of those surveyed, 45 percent said the Democrat is going a good or very good job, but 20 percent gave him a "terrible."

However, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan gets a good or very good approval rating from 68 percent of those surveyed. Twenty-one percent allowed his performance was "not too good."

The Dittman Research pollsters also asked if people thought Begich, as Anchorage mayor, had "deceived the Assembly and did not tell them how bad the budget deficit was going to be, or do you believe that Begich told the truth and gave the Assembly accurate budget deficit information?" Most respondents, 53 percent, said they thought Begich deceived the assembly, while 33 percent said he was telling the truth.