ROCK HILL, S.C. – The April 2013 Winthrop Poll interviewed 1069 adults living in South Carolina. The survey was in the field from April 6-14, 2013.
After weights (for sex, age, and race) have been applied, results which use all respondents have a margin of error of approximately +/- 3% at the 95% confidence level. Results that use less than the full sample will naturally have a higher margin of error. For results using only Registered voters, n=832, margin of error of approximately +/- 3.5% at the 95% confidence level. For additional information on methodology, see conclusion of poll.
Among the Winthrop Poll findings:
• Approval ratings for most politicians dropped in April from the February Winthrop Poll, with the exception of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley. Since the last Winthrop Poll, the sequestration, or budget cuts to federal spending which began on March 1, have taken place to instill austerity in the nation’s fiscal policy. More than five months after Barack Obama won a second term as president, 43.4 percent of all South Carolinians polled approve of the job he is doing, compared to 46.5 percent who disapprove. Previous polls can be found at: http://www.winthrop.edu/
• Only 14.9 percent of all respondents and only 11.1 percent of registered S.C. voters approve of the way Congress is doing its job. Regarding the S.C. General Assembly, 37.9 percent of S.C. residents approved and 35.8 percent disapproved.
• S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley picked up more support among Republicans and those leaning to the GOP from the February poll. That number ticked up from 66.8 percent to 69 percent. For all S.C. residents, the number climbed 1 percent to 43.5 percent.
• U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is up for re-election in 2014, received a 44 percent approval rating among S.C. registered voters but his approval rating has dropped from 71.6 percent to 57.5 percent among Republicans and those independents who lean toward the GOP compared to the February poll. This drop corresponds to the entry of two vocal challengers, and discussion of a third, into the primary race against him. Meanwhile, S.C.’s junior senator, the newly appointed Tim Scott, a congressman from Charleston, S.C., has a 39.7 percent approval rating among registered voters; this is more than 18 points higher than the percent who disapprove of his performance. Nearly 40 percent still aren’t sure about his handling of his new job.
• Half of Republicans and leaning GOP respondents reported that they feel strongly that food stamp recipients should be forbidden from buying unhealthy food items, while only 1/3 of Democrats feel the same way.
• Tea Party membership continues to lose its momentum. Only ¼ of respondents approve of the Tea Party movement. Overall, only about 3.7 percent of all registered voters consider themselves members of the movement, which is half of what was reported just a few months ago.
• Fewer respondents think country is on the right track (29%) compared with those who say it is headed in the wrong direction (60.3%). And 34.8 percent said the economic conditions for the country are fairly bad, while another third said conditions are fairly good.
• As for the economy of South Carolina, about half of respondents said the economy is fairly good and 56.7 percent said they are getting better. Half said their own financial situation was either excellent or good, and more than half said it was improving.
• The most important problems facing the U.S. respondents said are, in order: the economy, jobs or employment, budget deficit or debt and politicians/government. The most important problems facing the Palmetto State are: jobs or unemployment, education, economy/economic-financial crisis and politicians/government.
Note: Topline (may not sum to 100% due to rounding)
Weighted Demographics
T.1
|
Census* |
April 2013 Winthrop Poll – All Respondents |
||
| Sex | |||
| Male |
47.94 |
47.6 |
|
| Female |
52.06 |
52.4 |
|
| Race | |||
| Caucasian |
|
68.6 |
|
| African American |
26.5 |
25.7 |
|
| Other |
4.93 |
3.9 |
|
| Refused |
— |
1.8 |
|
| Age | |||
| 18-19 |
4.06 |
4.0 |
|
| 20-29 |
17.97 |
17.6 |
|
| 30-39 |
16.49 |
16.1 |
|
| 40-49 |
17.98 |
17.7 |
|
| 50-59 |
17.77 |
17.5 |
|
| 60-69 |
13.99 |
13.8 |
|
| 70-79 |
7.52 |
7.4 |
|
| 80-89 |
3.6 |
3.5 |
|
| 90-99 |
.62 |
.6 |
|
| 99 & over |
.018 |
.0 |
|
| Refused |
— |
1.9 |
*Census percentages are ONLY for those S.C. residents age 18 and over.
Top of Form
T.2
|
Registered Voters – SC Election Commission (accessed 4/15/13) |
April 2013 Winthrop Poll – Registered Voters |
|
| Sex | ||
| Male |
45.02 |
44.9 |
| Female |
54.98 |
55.1 |
| Race | ||
| White |
68.8 |
67.1 |
| Non-white |
31.2 |
31.6 |
| Refused |
— |
1.3 |
| Age | ||
| 18-24 |
4.51 |
4.7 |
| 25-44 |
38.26 |
38.2 |
| 45-65 |
35.84 |
35.2 |
| 65+ |
21.38 |
20.1 |
| Refused |
— |
1.8 |
Questions: (may not sum to 100% due to rounding)
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 4/14/13 |
ABC News/ Wash Post National Poll as of 4/14/13 |
Registered Voters in SC |
|
| Approve |
43.5 |
48 |
50 |
46.5 |
| Disapprove |
46.5 |
46 |
45 |
45.5 |
| Not Sure |
8.6 |
not reported |
5 |
6.7 |
| Refused |
1.3 |
not reported |
— |
1.2 |
*NOTE: it is not an ‘apples’ to ‘apples’ comparison to compare a sitting president’s approval ratings to those of any statewide official. A simple look at how many more people have no opinion on state level officials as compared to the president should make it obvious that these types of comparisons are not entirely valid.
T.4 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?
|
All |
Gallup National Poll as of 4/7/13 |
Registered Voters in SC |
|
| Approve |
14.6 |
15 |
11.1 |
| Disapprove |
75.3 |
79 |
80.9 |
| Not Sure |
9.8 |
7.8 |
|
| Refused |
0.3 |
0.2 |
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 |
43.5 |
54.3 |
44.8 |
53.3 |
69.0 |
| Disapprove |
36.6 |
45.7 |
39.3 |
46.7 |
15.4 |
| Not Sure |
18.6 |
15.0 |
14.5 |
||
| Refused |
1.3 |
0.8 |
1.0 |
*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 |
37.9 |
37.2 |
| Disapprove |
35.8 |
39.2 |
| Not Sure |
24.5 |
21.8 |
| Refused |
1.8 |
1.8 |
T.7 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Lindsey 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 |
44.8 |
55.7 |
43.9 |
52.5 |
57.5 |
| Disapprove |
35.6 |
44.3 |
39.8 |
47.5 |
30.5 |
| Not Sure |
18.5 |
15.4 |
11.1 |
||
| Refused |
1.1 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina. Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.
T.8 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tim Scott is handling his 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 |
37.7 |
65.3 |
39.7 |
65.3 |
54.1 |
| Disapprove |
20.0 |
34.7 |
21.1 |
34.7 |
11.1 |
| Not Sure |
39.9 |
37.1 |
31.8 |
||
| Refused |
2.5 |
2.1 |
2.9 |
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina. Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.
T.9 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 |
29.0 |
| Wrong Direction |
60.3 |
| Don’t Know/ Refused to Answer |
10.7 |
T.10 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 |
45.0 |
| Wrong Direction |
40.3 |
| Don’t Know/ Refused to Answer |
14.8 |
T.11 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/Economic-financial crisis |
20.1 |
| Jobs or unemployment |
15.1 |
| Budget deficit or debt |
13.9 |
| Politicians/government |
8.5 |
T.12 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 |
24.8 |
| Education |
15.0 |
| Economy/Economic-financial crisis |
12.8 |
| Politicians/government |
5.4 |
T.13 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 |
1.6 |
| Fairly Good |
33.7 |
| Fairly Bad |
34.8 |
| Very Bad |
28.1 |
| Not Sure |
1.7 |
| Refused |
0.1 |
T.14 Right now, do you think that economic conditions in the country as a whole are getting better or getting worse?
|
All |
|
| Getting Better |
45.4 |
| Getting Worse |
43.9 |
| Not Sure |
10.3 |
| Refused |
0.3 |
T.15 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 |
3.5 |
| Fairly Good |
50.1 |
| Fairly Bad |
32.5 |
| Very Bad |
10.6 |
| Not Sure |
2.9 |
| Refused |
0.4 |
T.16 Right now, do you think that economic conditions in the South Carolina are getting better or getting worse?
|
All |
|
| Getting Better |
56.7 |
| Getting Worse |
28.5 |
| Not Sure |
14.2 |
| Refused |
0.6 |
T.17 How would you rate your financial situation today? As excellent, good, only fair, or poor?
|
All |
|
| Excellent |
7.7 |
| Good |
44.6 |
| Only Fair |
33.1 |
| Poor |
12.5 |
| Not Sure |
1.0 |
| Refused |
1.1 |
T.18 Right now, do you think that your financial situation as a whole is getting better or getting worse?
|
All |
|
| Getting Better |
53.6 |
| Getting Worse |
29.8 |
| Not Sure |
15.0 |
| Refused |
1.7 |
T.19 Some people in South Carolina have suggested adding certain limits to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is more commonly known as the Food Stamps program. If added, these restrictions would forbid people who receive food stamps from using them to purchase certain unhealthy foods. While a final list has not been proposed, some of the prohibited items might include soft drinks and candy.
Do you feel food stamp recipients should or should not be forbidden from buying certain unhealthy items?
Do you feel that way “strongly” or “Somewhat?”
|
All |
Registered Voters in SC | Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters | Democrats & Dem Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters | |
| Strongly – SHOULD be forbidden |
41.8 |
41.6 |
49.7 |
33.2 |
| Somewhat – SHOULD be forbidden |
17.7 |
17.6 |
20.3 |
16.8 |
| Somewhat – should NOT be forbidden |
9.8 |
9.1 |
5.3 |
12.1 |
| Strongly – should NOT be forbidden |
27.1 |
27.9 |
21.7 |
33.4 |
| Don’t Know/Not sure |
3.3 |
3.6 |
2.8 |
4.3 |
| Refused |
0.3 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
T.20 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 |
26.2 |
27.6 |
52.8 |
| Disapprove |
30.4 |
34.4 |
17.2 |
| Not Familiar/No opinion |
37.6 |
32.7 |
23.6 |
| Not sure |
4.7 |
4.5 |
5.8 |
| Refused |
1.1 |
0.9 |
0.6 |
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina. Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.
T.21 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 |
3.7 |
4.1 |
7.6 |
| No |
90.9 |
91.1 |
89.1 |
| Not sure |
4.5 |
4.0 |
3.1 |
| Refused |
0.9 |
0.7 |
0.2 |
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina. Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.
******************************
Methodology Statement
Survey Methodology
April 2013 Winthrop Poll
The April 2013 Winthrop Poll interviewed 1069 adults living in South Carolina. After weights (for sex, age, and race) have been applied, results which use all respondents have a margin of error of approximately +/- 3% at the 95% confidence level. Results that use less than the full sample will naturally have a higher margin of error. For results using only Registered voters, n=832, margin of error of approximately +/- 3.5% at the 95% confidence level.
The survey was in the field from April 6-14, 2013. Phone calls were made during weekday evenings, all day Saturday, and Sunday afternoon and evening. Weekday daytime calls are generally not made to avoid oversampling those who are more likely to be at home during the day (e.g. retirees, stay-at-home-moms, etc.). Conducting weekend calls is important to avoid systematically excluding certain populations (such as those who may work 2nd or 3rd shift during the week).
The survey used (1) Random Digit Dialing (RDD) and (2) wireless phone number sampling. Both RDD and wireless samples are crucial to ensure no adult in the geographical area of interest is systematically excluded from the sample. Both the RDD sample and the wireless sample were purchased from Survey Sampling International (SSI). A further explanation of RDD methodology, with descriptions taken from SSI’s website, may be found below.
Phone numbers selected for the survey were re-dialed five or more times in an attempt to reach a respondent. Once a household was reached, we also employed procedures to randomize within households for RDD sample.
Additionally, we:
- Screen the wireless sample for wireless-only status since individuals who have a cell phone and a land line already have an established probability of appearing in the RDD.
- Weight responses based on sex, age, and race according to the known population of residents of SC age 18 and older.
- Weight Responses for the subset of registered voters based on sex, age, and race according to the known population of those registered to vote in South Carolina
Computerized autodialers were not used in order to ensure the survey of wireless phones complied with the Telephone Consumers Protection Act and all FCC rules regarding contacting wireless telephones.
The Winthrop Poll is paid for by Winthrop University with additional support from The West Forum on Politics and Policy at Winthrop University.
Additional Explanation of RDD Methodology :
(with descriptions taken from SSI website)
Samples are generated using a database of “working blocks.” A block (also known as a 100-bank or a bank) is a set of 100 contiguous numbers identified by the first two digits of the last four digits of a telephone number. For example, in the telephone number 203-567-7200, “72” is the block. A block is termed to be working if some specified number of listed telephone numbers are found in that block.
Samples of random numbers distributed across all eligible blocks in proportion to their density of listed telephone households are selected. All blocks within a county are organized in ascending order by area code, exchange, and block number. Once the quota has been allocated to all counties in the frame, a sampling interval is calculated by summing the number of listed residential numbers in eligible blocks within the county and dividing that sum by the number of sampling points assigned to the county. From a random start between zero and the sampling interval, blocks are systematically selected in proportion to their density of listed households. Once a block has been selected, a two-digit number is systematically selected in the range 00-99 and is appended to the exchange and block to form a 10-digit telephone number.
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