Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie, who can bench press 225 pounds at age 73, likes the camaraderie of the gym.

"When you're in the weight room, everyone's helping everyone else," Abercrombie said in an interview. "Everybody's there with a lot of goodwill, they encourage one another."

Abercrombie isn't getting a lot of love elsewhere in Hawaii these days. Elected just over a year ago with 58 percent of the vote, he's now the least-popular governor in the nation, with a 30 percent approval rating, according to an October survey by Raleigh, North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling. That same month, four of his senior advisers quit.

The governor attributes the friction to the budget he signed in June, which involved tax hikes and spending cuts, including a 5 percent salary reduction for state workers. He spoke in a Dec. 6 interview at a Democratic Governors Association meeting in Los Angeles.

"I told everyone when I ran, I'm going to tell you exactly what needs to be done," said Abercrombie, who previously served on the Honolulu City Council, in the state Senate and in Congress. "I've been elected for four decades now, always on the basis that not everyone agrees with me."

Abercrombie took office last December with the state facing a $1.26 billion deficit for the two-year budgeting cycle that ends June 2013. To help fill the gap, he proposed a 10-cent per can tax on sugary beverages such as soda, a 50 percent boost in alcohol levies and taxes on the pensions of people making more than $100,000 a year.