SC

Winthrop Poll: SC Political Report Card

S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley remains vulnerable, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has seen his GOP support collapse, Barack Obama’s popularity has slipped and everybody hates the U.S. Congress … Those are the key takeaways from the latest Winthrop University poll, which was released this week. Haley – who is up for…

S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley remains vulnerable, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has seen his GOP support collapse, Barack Obama’s popularity has slipped and everybody hates the U.S. Congress …

Those are the key takeaways from the latest Winthrop University poll, which was released this week.

Haley – who is up for reelection next year – has a job approval rating of 44.1 percent, which is up slightly from her 42.5 percent showing back in February. Meanwhile her disapproval rating was 39.1 percent – which is also up slightly from February’s 38.4 percent reading.

The governor also has an “intensity” problem – as those who have formed strong negative opinions of her outnumber those who have formed strong positive opinions by a 4.4 percent margin.

Democrats wasted little time in pointing out Haley’s vulnerability.

“This makes three polls in one week showing that Nikki Haley’s continued economic failures and incompetence leave her deeply unpopular in South Carolina,” S.C. Democratic Party spokeswoman Kristin Sosanie said. “Under Nikki Haley, median income is falling, South Carolina has been named one of the hardest places to earn a living and achieve the American dream. Millions of families and businesses had their personal information hacked and stolen, then the Governor chose to cover it up for more than two weeks. After three years of being left behind, South Carolina’s families and businesses have had it with Nikki Haley and are ready for new leadership.”

The big mover in the poll (and not in a good way) was U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham – who is also facing a reelection fight in 2014. The liberal Senator has seen his support among self-identified Republicans in South Carolina collapse over the last eight months – and with good reason.

In February, 71.6 percent of Palmetto State Republicans (and GOP-leaning voters) approved of the job Graham was doing, compared to 17.4 percent who disapproved. Today, Graham’s approval rating among Republicans has plunged to 45.2 percent – with more than 40 percent disapproving.

That’s a seismic shift … one which presents real problems for the incumbent in the event one of his primary opponents gains traction with the GOP electorate.

U.S. President Barack Obama has seen his support in South Carolina slide as well … although his decline is nowhere near as pronounced as Graham’s. In February, Obama’s job approval rating among South Carolinians stood at 47.6 percent – with 45.2 percent disapproving. This month Obama’s approval rating has fallen to 40.7 percent – while those who disapprove of his performance now total 51.7 percent.

Of course Obama’s numbers are positively lustrous compared to how South Carolinians view the U.S. Congress, though. In February 14.1 percent approved of Congress’ job performance (compared to 75.5 percent who disapproved). Those numbers have – amazingly – gotten worse. Now only 6.7 percent of South Carolinians approve of Congress’ performance, compared to 86.5 who disapprove.

Winthrop surveyed 887 South Carolina respondents from October 19-27, 2013. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percent.

OCTOBER 2013 WINTHROP POLL RESULTS

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11 comments

Janice October 30, 2013 at 8:17 am

Go Nancy go!

Reply
MyDaddyIsRich October 31, 2013 at 11:24 pm

Yes please do. Go away.

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Tom October 30, 2013 at 8:51 am

And yet SC will probably re-elect its’ Congressional delegation, again.

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Frank Pytel October 30, 2013 at 8:57 am

@NancyMace at the moment has it in the bag. Kt would be perfect if she were to puplicly state #RepealDontReplace. It would be easy sailing from there :)

Reply
Smirks October 30, 2013 at 8:59 am

I’m curious to see what the numbers for Graham will be in February of next year.

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wildfire October 30, 2013 at 11:13 am

Graham at 37% approval with registered voters, and SC Dems still refuse to challenge him. Astounding.

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Krusty Kasten October 30, 2013 at 6:58 pm

No need for Dems to challenge him. He is practically one of them.

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wildfire October 30, 2013 at 10:24 pm

Graham wants to gut Medicare and bomb everyone. A real prototype Democrat! No, Graham combines the worst of all worlds.

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Crooner October 30, 2013 at 2:52 pm

Lindsey for Senate, ’cause seven right wing whack jobs is more than enough for SC.

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Republican voting Sheheen October 30, 2013 at 5:22 pm

Haley desperately needs to go…No the people of South Carolina and it’s taxpaying citizens desperately need her to go.
i’m a Republican with friends in Camden, also Republican. They have nothing but good things to say about Sheheen, necver anything negative. They say he is a moderate, who leans heavily conservative.
Haley id a fake and a liar! I’m giving Sheheen a chance, no one could be worse than Haley! No one!

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Sticker Bomb Lindsey October 31, 2013 at 7:49 am

Join the movement at Crush Graham Cracker PAC! We plan to pass out thousands of stickers at the Clemson/Carolina game on NOV. 30th that say, “Game On! #DefeatLindseyGraham.” There is power in numbers! Kickoff public dialog in a HUGE SC crowd! http://www.stickerbomblindsey.com

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