Poll: 69 percent approve of Gov.

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A new poll shows Governor Susana Martinez 69 percent of New Mexicans approve of the governor's job performance.

An Albuquerque Journal tally from September 3rd through the September 6th said 17 percent of voters disapprove, while 14 percent were undecided.

UNM Political Science Professor Christine Sierra said the governor is popular for what she's done so far, such as improving the state's finances and cracking down on corruption.

"She's articulate, no nonsense, and I think there's kind of a down to earth quality of how she presents herself," said Sierra.

But Sierra said the governor hasn't been able to do much else because her agenda is strongly opposed by democrats who control the legislature, who have repeatedly blocked her efforts to repeal the law that gives driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and to hold back third graders who can't read proficiently.

Sierra said no matter how popular the governor herself is, her popularity alone won't get legislative candidates who support her elected in November.

"The bottom line is how much money the governor raises to pump into state legislative races and to run political ads," said Sierra.

The governor's two political action committees, Susana PAC and Reform New Mexico Now, have raised $1.6 million to elect candidates she backs and to oust incumbents, including Democratic Senate leaders Michael Sanchez of Belen and Tim Jennings of Roswell.

But even if the governor gets enough people elected to move her agenda through the legislature, Sierra said keeping her high marks won't be easy.

"The trick will be maintaining that approval ratings once the voters get to see and the electorate gets to see more of their policy decisions," said Sierra.

Most governors enjoy high popularity early on in their terms, according to Sierra. Former Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson had an approval rating as high as 61 percent in Oct. 2008, about halfway through his second term. That dropped to 33 percent by Aug. 2010.