A small plurality of respondents in the annual Ball State Hoosier Survey have a positive view of Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill as he heads into a re-election campaign.

That’s despite five women who accuse the Republican state official of sexual misconduct.

Thirty-eight percent of people in the Hoosier Survey approve of Attorney General Curtis Hill, while just 15 percent disapprove.

Bowen Center for Public Affairs managing director Charles Taylor says the annual poll had never before asked about a statewide elected official other than governor or U.S. senator. And he says one of the surprising things about Hill’s numbers is his high name recognition.

“There were only 11 percent that responded that they hadn’t heard of him,” Taylor says. “The biggest number of people that didn’t express an opinion, just didn’t express an opinion.”

But Taylor says that’s likely in part because the Hoosier Survey polls 600 adults – not limiting it to likely or even registered voters.

“Political journalists, political scientists and political junkies are paying a lot more attention … than the public at-large, so I think maybe that explains a lot of it,” Taylor says.

Taylor says he expects Hill’s approval numbers to change as the campaign for attorney general heats up.

Contact Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.