Oct. 5--A majority of registered voters in Southwest Virginia rate Gov. Tim Kaine as "good" while his statewide approval rating remains positive, according to a recent Mason-Dixon poll.

Voters in the Roanoke/Southwest region rated Kaine's job performance by five categories: excellent, 24 percent; good, 36 percent; fair, 26 percent; poor, 10 percent ; and 4 percent undecided, according to the poll conducted for the Bristol Herald Courier and other Media General newspapers in Virginia.

The 24 percent rating in the "excellent" category by Southwest Virginia was the highest given the governor by any of the five regions in the state.

A majority of Virginia voters continues to give Kaine a positive job performance rating. Statewide, 54 percent rate Kaine's performance as "excellent" or "good" -- the same as in July 2006 -- while 30 percent rate his performance as "fair" -- up from 26 percent. Meanwhile, 11 percent of the state's registered voters rate his performance "poor" -- up from 8 percent in 2006.

"Without a doubt, there's a trend there," said Quentin Kid, an associate professor of political science at Christopher Newton University in Newport News. "I think he's governed without partisanship -- that is without overt partisanship, and voters reward politicians that do that."

Kid added that he has personally conducted several surveys this year that show Kaine has been seen as displaying more partisanship because of his help with the Barack Obama presidential campaign, of which he's a state chairman.

"I've seen a slight movement downward in his performance rating, primarily because of a perception of partisanship," Kid said. "That perception is there, and I think it began when Obama was contemplating Kaine as a vice presidential choice. But I have a feeling he'll go back to being more businesslike after the election. He's a savvy man. You don't get to be governor of Virginia without being savvy."

Regionally, Kaine's highest score in any category was the 40 percent "good" rating given by voters in the Richmond/Metro area.

Kid said Kaine's service as the former mayor of Richmond has gained the governor high name recognition in that area.

Conversely, his lowest marks across the board came from the Lynchburb/Southside region, where 14 percent of registered voters rated his job performance as "poor."

More women rated the governor's performance as excellent than did men, 24 percent to 16 percent, respectively. And blacks also gave Kaine higher marks than whites with a 26 percent to 19 percent difference in the "excellent" rating and a 47 percent to 31 percent difference in the "good" rating.

While Kaine's performance rating is favorable, it is not as high as that of his predecessor, Mark Warner. Warner left office with a 74 percent positive job rating. However, during the first half of Warner's term, his job rating was in line with Kaine's -- generally running in the mid-to-high 50 percent range.

Kaine's job rating is also similar to that posted by Jim Gilmore in the final half of his term in office.

Though he is not a professor or political pundit, 75-year-old Bristol, Va., resident R. Davidson said this Friday about Kaine's performance: "He's the one. He's well-qualified and he's running the state well."

Davidson, who has lived in Virginia for 60 years, added: "Financially, well, everyone's taking a hit right now. But I'd give him high marks for keeping the state on the right path."

The poll was conducted from Sept. 29 through Oct. 1. A total of 625 registered voters were interviewed statewide by telephone. All indicated they were likely to vote in the November general election.

Those interviewed were selected by the random variation of the last four digits of telephone numbers.

ggray@bristolnews.com| (276) 645-2512

-----

To see more of the Bristol Herald Courier or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tricities.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, Bristol Herald Courier, Va.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NYSE:MEG,