There’s no way Josh Stein’s approval ratings stay this high

It’s quite a honeymoon: Stein is virtually break-even with Republicans

Gov. Josh Stein is doing something no Democrat should be able to pull off in 2025: He’s basically break-even with North Carolina Republicans.

A new Catawba-YouGov poll reports that 39% of Republicans approve of his performance as governor so far, with 40% disapproval.

That’s not just better than expected. That’s better than plenty of Republican politicians would poll with their party. Former Gov. Roy Cooper, for comparison, had only a 24% approval rate (with a 52% disapproval rate) among Republicans at a similar point in his tenure.

While the number is eye-catching, it’s only slightly surprising.

Stein has clearly made a strategic decision to front-load his term with gestures of bipartisanship. He praised the House budget. He made rhetorical overtures to Western North Carolina. He’s largely sidestepped the cultural issues that usually animate the activist class.

To be honest, if I were polled at the same time this was conducted (mid-June), I would be tempted to give him a “slight approva…