RALEIGH - Governor Pat McCrory’s approval ratings are slipping in the wake of controversial policy debates over abortion and reducing jobless benefits for the unemployed.

The governor has enjoyed positive ratings since he took office six months ago. But Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling says his numbers are negative for the first time. “Only 40 percent of voters approve of the job he’s doing [and] 49 percent disapprove.”

Jensen says voters are critical of both the policies and the way they were passed. “We’ve really seen an incredible amount of unhappiness about the abortion bill, especially the process. 80 percent of voters in the state think it’s inappropriate to combine abortion legislation with bills about motorcycle safety or Sharia law.”

He says most voters think McCrory should veto the abortion bill by a margin of 48 – 33 percent.

The recent cuts to jobless benefit have also played a major role in public opinion, Jensen says. "There was a lot of attention given to the fact that a couple weeks ago unemployment benefits ran out for 70,000 North Carolinians. We find that 55 percent of voters in the state are unhappy with the legislation that allowed that to happen.”

McCrory is still better off than Bev Perdue was six months into her administration, when just 25 percent of those polled had a favorable opinion of her.