Poll: Nearly half think Arizona headed in wrong direction

PHOENIX — Nearly half of Arizonans believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, a poll said.

The Behavior Research Center poll said 45 percent of the 700 Arizonans surveyed feel the state is being led in the wrong direction.

Only one in five say that the state legislators are doing a good job while fully 80 percent believe the state legislature should do more to represent the views of voters such as themselves, including a large percentage (71 percent) of registered Republicans.

Gov. Jan Brewer’s stock with the public remains deeply divided. Arizonans rate her performance as “good” rather than “poor” by a narrow 34 percent to 32 percent margin, while 24 percent rate her performance as “fair.” Within the ranks of voters in her own political party, favorable views are much stronger — 53 percent favorable to only 18 percent unfavorable.

The public’s view of Brewer has been more or less stable since April 2011.