"This poll is ominous for Christine Gregoire,” said David E. Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Strategic Vision, LLC. "Even though she has been sworn in and is acting as governor, a clear majority of voters do not believe that she won the election fairly and if given the chance would replace her with Dino Rossi.

"The question remains is how long will this feeling last. Generally, the rule of thumb is that the longer a situation like this lasts, the harder it is for the candidate in Rossi’s situation to keep his supporters mobilized. So far, though, the Rossi supporters are maintaining their energy."

When asked if they accepted the disputed votes in King County that gave Democrat Gregoire the election victory as being legitimate, 33 percent said yes, 55 percent said no, and 12 percent were undecided.

When asked if they favored having another gubernatorial election, as Republicans are urging, the poll results were 53 percent saying yes, 35 percent saying no, and 12 percent undecided.

"Voters believing that the election results do not reflect the will of the people strongly favor a revote,” said Johnson. "This shows that Gregoire, even though she has been sworn in as governor, has not been able to convince voters that it is time to put the election behind and accept her as governor. This could make her tenure as governor very difficult."

When asked if they believed that courts will allow a revote, 41 percent said yes, 55 percent said no, and 4 percent were undecided.

"With majorities believing that Gregoire did not win and favoring both Rossi and a revote, this result shows that voters do not believe that the courts will remedy the situation that will give legitimacy to the governor,” said Johnson. "Voters' view of everyone involved in the election has suffered to some degree, and it appears the court system will suffer in public esteem regardless of how they rule."

Christine Gregoire was viewed favorably by 38 percent, 57 percent viewed her unfavorably, and 5 percent were undecided. Dino Rossi was viewed favorably by 50 percent, 47 percent viewed him unfavorably, and 3 percent were undecided.

"The problem for Gregoire is that regardless of who they voted for, people believe that she stole the election and her unfavorable numbers are extremely high, which means voters are not willing to give her a benefit of the doubt,” said Johnson.

Editor's note: