ROCK HILL, S.C. – The results of the latest Winthrop Poll, of 1,038 respondents living in South Carolina are in. The survey was in the field from Feb. 9-17, 2013.
After weights (for sex, age, and race) have been applied, results which use all respondents have a margin of error of approximately +/- 3.1% at the 95% confidence level. Results that use less than the full sample (e.g. just registered voters) will naturally have a higher margin of error.
For additional information on methodology, click here.
Among the Winthrop Poll findings:
- · More than three months after Barack Obama won a second term as president, 47.6% of all South Carolinians polled approve of the job he is doing.
- · Three-in-four of all respondents and more than 80% of registered S.C. voters disapproved of the way Congress is doing its job. Regarding the S.C. General Assembly, 40% of S.C. residents approved and 35.1% disapproved.
- · S.C. Governor Nikki Haley garnered higher approval ratings in this poll compared to the December Winthrop Poll. Ratings have climbed to 43.7% for registered voters, compared to disapproval of 39.1%. In December, those numbers were nearly even.
- · Governor Haley garners a much higher approval rating—66.8% vs. 16.2% who disapprove of her job performance—among those who are registered to vote and say they are either Republicans or Independents who lean Republican.
- · U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is up for re-election in 2014, received a 48.4% approval rating among S.C. registered voters — 12 points higher than his disapproval rating– but his approval rating climbs to 71.6% among Republicans and those independents who lean toward the GOP.
- · Tea Party membership continues to remain much lower than 2010 highs. In numbers similar to the December Winthrop Poll, only about 1 in 10 Republicans and GOP leaning independents who are registered approve of the Tea Party consider themselves a member of the movement. Overall, only about 6% of all registered voters consider themselves members of the Tea Party movement. While membership in the Tea Party remains steady from December 2012, approval of the movement continues to drop across the board.
- · Concerning lifestyle questions, only 41.7% respondents said they were close to their ideal weight, 23.2% reported experiencing significant physical pain recently, 1 in 10 reported depression, more than a third were stressed a lot, over a quarter were worried and only 22.1% engaged in vigorous exercise for at least 30 minutes daily or almost every day during the week with nearly 3 in 10 reporting NO physical exercise. Only 56% of respondents reported having eaten healthy the previous day. Nearly 43% of those with Internet in their homes frequently visit social networking sites.
- · Fewer respondents think country is on the right track (36.3%) compared with those who say it is headed in the wrong direction (55%). Yet 48.3% said the economic conditions for the country as a whole are getting better, while 52.1% said conditions for S.C. are getting better.
- · The most important problems facing the U.S. respondents said are, in order: the economy, the budget deficit or debt, jobs or employment, and politicians/government.
February 2013 Winthrop Poll – Results
Note: Topline (may not sum to 100% due to rounding)
Weighted Demographics
T.1
|
Census* |
February 2013 Winthrop Poll – All Respondents |
|
| Sex | ||
| Male |
47.94 |
48.6 |
| Female |
52.06 |
51.4 |
| Race | ||
| Caucasian |
68.57 |
68.4 |
| African American |
26.5 |
27.1 |
| Other |
4.93 |
4.5 |
| Age | ||
| 18-19 |
4.06 |
4.0 |
| 20-29 |
17.97 |
17.9 |
| 30-39 |
16.49 |
16.2 |
| 40-49 |
17.98 |
17.7 |
| 50-59 |
17.77 |
17.7 |
| 60-69 |
13.99 |
13.9 |
| 70-79 |
7.52 |
7.3 |
| 80-89 |
3.6 |
3.5 |
| 90-99 |
.62 |
.6 |
| 99 & over |
.018 |
0.0 |
| Refused |
— |
1.2 |
*Census percentages are ONLY for those S.C. residents age 18 and over.
T.2
|
Registered Voters – SC Election Commission (accessed 2/18/13) |
February 2013 Winthrop Poll – Registered Voters |
|
| Sex | ||
| Male |
45.0 |
46.9 |
| Female |
55.0 |
53.1 |
| Race | ||
| White |
68.7 |
68.3 |
| Non-white |
31.3 |
31.6 |
| Age | ||
| 18-24 |
4.7 |
4.7 |
| 25-44 |
38.3 |
37.7 |
| 45-65 |
35.9 |
35.6 |
| 65+ |
21.1 |
20.3 |
| Refused |
— |
1.6 |
T.3 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President of the United States?
|
All |
Gallup National Poll as of 2/17/13 |
Registered Voters in SC |
|
| Approve |
47.6 |
52 |
48.1 |
| Disapprove |
45.2 |
42 |
46.8 |
| Not Sure |
6.5 |
6 |
4.8 |
| Refused |
.7 |
– |
.3 |
T.4 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?
|
All |
Gallup National Poll as of 1/10/13 |
Registered Voters in SC |
|
| Approve |
14.1 |
14 |
12.2 |
| Disapprove |
75.5 |
81 |
80.3 |
| Not Sure |
10 |
6 |
7.5 |
| Refused |
.4 |
– |
.1 |
T.5 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Nikki Haley is handling her job as Governor of South Carolina?
|
All |
All – Excluding Not Sure and Refused |
Registered Voters in SC |
Registered Voters in SC – Excluding Not Sure and Refused |
Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters |
|
| Approve |
42.5 |
52.5 |
43.7 |
52.8 |
66.8 |
| Disapprove |
38.4 |
47.5 |
39.1 |
47.2 |
16.2 |
| Not Sure |
18.2 |
– |
16.4 |
– |
16.8 |
| Refused |
1.0 |
– |
.8 |
– |
.2 |
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina. Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.
T.6 Do you approve or disapprove of the way the South Carolina State Legislature is handling its job?
|
All |
Registered Voters in SC |
|
| Approve |
40.0 |
39.3 |
| Disapprove |
35.1 |
37.0 |
| Not Sure |
24.1 |
23.3 |
| Refused |
.9 |
.4 |
T.7 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Lindsay Graham is handling its job as a United States Senator for South Carolina?
|
All |
All – Excluding Not Sure and Refused |
Registered Voters in SC |
Registered Voters in SC – Excluding Not Sure and Refused |
Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters |
|
| Approve |
47.3 |
58.4 |
48.4 |
57.1 |
71.6 |
| Disapprove |
33.7 |
41.6 |
36.3 |
42.9 |
17.4 |
| Not Sure |
18.3 |
– |
14.8 |
– |
10.7 |
| Refused |
.6 |
– |
.5 |
– |
.3 |
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina. Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.
T.8 In December, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint resigned his post to become the president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank. Governor Nikki Haley appointed Representative Tim Scott, the Congressman from South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, to replace Jim DeMint in the U.S. Senate.
Would you say the choice of Tim Scott to fill the vacancy in the U.S. Senate was: Excellent, Good, Only Fair, or Poor?
|
All |
Registered Voters in SC |
Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters |
|
| Excellent |
16.1 |
18.6 |
31.6 |
| Good |
29.0 |
30.1 |
38.0 |
| Only fair |
25.2 |
24.4 |
10.8 |
| Poor |
10.1 |
11.7 |
3.3 |
| Not sure |
18.4 |
14.2 |
14.9 |
| Refused |
1.2 |
1.0 |
1.4 |
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina. Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.
T.9 Would you say that your overall opinion of U.S. Senator Tim Scott is favorable or unfavorable?
|
All |
Registered Voters in SC |
Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters |
|
| Favorable |
52.0 |
54.8 |
73.2 |
| Unfavorable |
19.0 |
18.8 |
4.5 |
| Not sure/don’t know |
27.4 |
25.1 |
21.2 |
| Refused |
1.5 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
*NOTE: Senator Scott has not been on the job long enough to ask whether respondents approve/disapprove of the way he is handling his job. Therefore, it was determined that favorable/unfavorable ratings would be more appropriate at this time.
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina. Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.
T.10 Thinking about the current path that our nation is taking, do you think our country is on the right track or headed in the wrong direction?
|
All |
|
| Right Track |
36.3 |
| Wrong Direction |
55.0 |
| Don’t Know/ Refused to Answer |
8.7 |
T.11 Thinking about the current path that state of South Carolina is taking, do you think state of South Carolina is on the right track or headed in the wrong direction?
|
All |
|
| Right Track |
45.6 |
| Wrong Direction |
41.2 |
| Don’t Know/ Refused to Answer |
13.1 |
T.12 What do you think is the most important problem facing the United States of America today?
(Top four responses listed. Response options are not read to respondents. Interviewers code responses into one of 30 answer options)
|
All |
|
| Economy or Economic/financial crisis |
22.5 |
| Budget deficit or debt |
14.4 |
| Jobs or unemployment |
14.3 |
| Politicians/ government |
10.1 |
T.13 What do you think is the most important problem facing the State of South Carolina today?
(Top four responses listed. Response options are not read to respondents. Interviewers code responses into one of 30 answer options)
|
All |
|
| Jobs or unemployment |
24.2 |
| Economy or Economic/financial crisis |
14.0 |
| Education |
12.8 |
| Politicians/ government |
6.5 |
T.14 How would you rate the condition of the national economy these days? Is it very good, fairly good, fairly bad or very bad?
|
All |
|
| Very Good |
1.7 |
| Fairly Good |
31.6 |
| Fairly Bad |
36.6 |
| Very Bad |
27.8 |
| Not Sure |
2.1 |
| Refused |
.2 |
T.15 Right now, do you think that economic conditions in the country as a whole are getting better or getting worse?
|
All |
|
| Getting Better |
48.3 |
| Getting Worse |
44.0 |
| Not Sure |
7.3 |
| Refused |
.4 |
T.16 How would you rate the condition of the economy of South Carolina these days? Is it very good, fairly good, fairly bad, or very bad?
|
All |
|
| Very Good |
3.3 |
| Fairly Good |
47.7 |
| Fairly Bad |
32.7 |
| Very Bad |
11.8 |
| Not Sure |
3.8 |
| Refused |
.8 |
T.17 Right now, do you think that economic conditions in the South Carolina are getting better or getting worse?
|
All |
|
| Getting Better |
52.1 |
| Getting Worse |
33.1 |
| Not Sure |
13.5 |
| Refused |
1.2 |
T.18 How would you rate your financial situation today? As excellent, good, only fair, or poor?
|
All |
|
| Excellent |
7.2 |
| Good |
42.6 |
| Only Fair |
34.3 |
| Poor |
13.9 |
| Not Sure |
.9 |
| Refused |
1.1 |
T.19 Right now, do you think that your financial situation as a whole is getting better or getting worse?
|
All |
|
| Getting Better |
52.0 |
| Getting Worse |
32.2 |
| Not Sure |
14.4 |
| Refused |
1.4 |
T.20 OK, now I’d like to ask some different kinds of questions. First, do you have internet access in your home? [Includes access via smart phone]
|
All |
|
| Yes |
84.6 |
| No |
15.0 |
| Not Sure |
.3 |
| Refused |
.0 |
T.21 Is your home internet access, high speed, such as DSL or a Cable Modem, dial-up, on only via a smart phone that does not use your home’s wireless access?
|
All |
|
| High Speed |
89.1 |
| Dial Up |
4.0 |
| Smart Phone Only |
3.8 |
| Not Sure |
2.8 |
| Refused |
.2 |
*NOTE: This question was only asked of those respondents who reported that they had internet access in their home.
T.22 Do you visit social networking sites, such as FaceBook, MySpace, or LinkedIn on the internet very often, often, sometimes, hardly at all, or never?
|
All |
|
| Very Often |
23.0 |
| Often |
19.5 |
| Sometimes |
18.6 |
| Hardly At All |
13.1 |
| Never |
25.6 |
| Refused to Answer |
.2 |
*NOTE: This question was only asked of those respondents who reported that they had internet access in their home.
T.23 Do you primarily see the internet in your life as a tool for communication, for work, for information, or for entertainment?
|
All |
|
| Communication |
12.2 |
| Work |
20.3 |
| Information |
38.6 |
| Entertainment |
14.8 |
| Other |
13.0 |
| Refused to Answer |
1.1 |
*NOTE: This question was only asked of those respondents who reported that they had internet access in their home.
T.24 On a different subject, would you say you ate healthy all day yesterday?
|
All |
|
| Yes |
56.0 |
| No |
42.1 |
| Not Sure |
1.5 |
| Refused |
.5 |
T.25 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your personal health?
|
All |
|
| Satisfied |
72.1 |
| Dissatisfied |
25.7 |
| Don’t know/ Not sure |
1.8 |
| Refused |
.3 |
T.26 Do you have any health problems that prevent you from doing any of the things people your age normally can do?
|
All |
|
| Yes |
21.2 |
| No |
78.1 |
| Don’t know/ Not sure |
.2 |
| Refused |
.5 |
Did you experience the following feelings during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?
[NOTE: The following four questions were randomized]T.27 How about…physical pain? [Did you experience this during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?]
|
All |
|
| Yes |
23.2 |
| No |
76.6 |
| Don’t know/ Not sure |
0 |
| Refused |
.3 |
T.28 How about…depression? [Did you experience this during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?]
|
All |
|
| Yes |
10.3 |
| No |
89.1 |
| Don’t know/ Not sure |
.3 |
| Refused |
.3 |
T.29 How about…stress? [Did you experience this during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?]
|
All |
|
| Yes |
36.2 |
| No |
62.9 |
| Don’t know/ Not sure |
.6 |
| Refused |
.3 |
T.30 How about…worry? [Did you experience this during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?]
|
All |
|
| Yes |
27.7 |
| No |
71.8 |
| Don’t know/ Not sure |
.3 |
| Refused |
.3 |
T.31 How many days during the last 7 days did you engage in vigorous physical exercise for at least 30 minutes?
|
All |
|
| 0 |
29.1 |
| 1 – 2 |
23.4 |
| 3 – 4 |
22.9 |
| 5 – 7 |
22.3 |
| Don’t Know/ Not Sure |
1.8 |
| Refused to Answer |
.4 |
*NOTE: Respondents who answered with a range, such as “two to three,” were coded as the lower number
T.32 I’m going to read several statements and ask you to tell me whether each statement was often, sometimes, or never true for your household during the past 12 months. You were worried that food would run out in your household before you were able to afford to buy more. Was that statement often, sometimes, or never true for your household during the past 12 months?
|
All |
|
| Often |
6.3 |
| Sometimes |
15.0 |
| Never |
77.5 |
| Not Sure |
.7 |
| Refused |
.4 |
T.33 You felt that you couldn’t afford to serve everyone balanced meals in your household because there wasn’t enough money. Was that statement often, sometimes, or never true for your household during the past 12 months?
|
All |
|
| Often |
6.9 |
| Sometimes |
12.5 |
| Never |
79.7 |
| Not Sure |
.4 |
| Refused |
.4 |
T.34 Think for a moment about what you would consider your ideal physical weight. Would you say that your current weight is much higher than that ideal, somewhat higher than that ideal, very close to that ideal, somewhat lower than that ideal, or much lower than that ideal?
|
All |
|
| Much Higher |
13.0 |
| Somewhat higher |
37.0 |
| Close to ideal |
41.7 |
| Somewhat lower |
4.4 |
| Much lower |
1.6 |
| Not Sure/ Don’t Know |
1.1 |
| Refused |
1.2 |
T.35 In general, would you say you approve or disapprove of the Tea Party movement or are you not familiar enough with the Tea Party movement to have an opinion?
|
All |
Registered Voters in SC |
Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters |
|
| Approve |
24.1 |
26.5 |
48.0 |
| Disapprove |
34.7 |
37.9 |
20.6 |
| Not Familiar |
34.6 |
28.4 |
22.0 |
| Not sure |
5.4 |
6.0 |
8.6 |
| Refused |
1.2 |
1.2 |
.8 |
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina. Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.
T.36 Would you consider yourself a MEMBER of the Tea Party Movement?
|
All |
Registered Voters in SC |
Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters |
|
| Yes |
5.5 |
6.1 |
10.6 |
| No |
87.4 |
88.2 |
84.1 |
| Not sure |
6.4 |
4.7 |
4.6 |
| Refused |
.7 |
1.1 |
.7 |
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina. Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.
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