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Governor Rick Scott’s popularity is plummeting. A Quinnipiac Poll released today shows the governor’s job approval rating at 39 percent. As Whitney Ray tells us, the drop comes as the man hired to make Scott more likable prepares to leave.

In May of last year just 29 percent of Florida voters approved of the job Governor Rick Scott was doing. So Scott hired a new chief of staff, invited reporters over for donuts, ditched his executive suits and changed his official photo to a more causal picture.

Under the watchful eye of his new chief advisor Scott’s approval rating rose to 41 percent. But now it’s falling again.

A Quinnipiac Poll released Wednesday shows Scott’s rating dropping to 39 percent. Pollster Peter Brown says the governor needs more support from his own party.

“One of the reasons he’s having so many problems, is his Republican numbers are low,” said Brown.

Scott received a 71 percent job approval rating among Republican voters, but experts say a sitting governor should be able to get 80 or even 90 percent support within his own party. I caught up with Scott after the poll was released. He told me there is only one number he was concerned about.

“The only number I look at every month is our unemployment rate and as you know we are bucking the national trend. We’ve come down 2.5 percent in the last 17 months,” said Scott.

And if Florida’s unemployment rate improves Scott’s job approval will likely rise with it.

The man who helped bring Scott’s popularity to its highest point is stepping down amid questions about how he handled state contracts. Steve MacNamara’s last day as the governor’s chief of staff is July first.