Haley, Sheheen lead South Carolina governor’s races
May 28, 20101. Would you say South Carolina is headed in the right direction or wrong direction?
Right direction: 25%
Wrong direction: 50%
No opinion/Undecided: 25%
2. Please think a minute about the performance of state legislators in Columbia. What kind of grade would you give them on a scale from A to F?
A – Outstanding: 5%
B – Good: 10%
C – Average: 30%
D – Below average: 29%
F – Failing: 20%
No opinion/Undecided: 5%
3. Now please think about the state senator and state representative that you elect in your area. What kind of grade would you give your state senator and state representative?
A – Outstanding: 10%
B – Good: 17%
C – Average: 33%
D – Below average: 19%
F – Failing: 15%
No opinion/Undecided: 6%
4. (AMONG LIKELY REPUBLICAN PRIMARY VOTERS) If the Republican gubernatorial primary were held today, which of these candidates would you vote for:
Nikki Haley: 31%
Andre Bauer: 21%
Gresham Barrett: 14%
Henry McMaster: 14%
No opinion/Undecided: 20%
5. (AMONG LIKELY DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY VOTERS) If the Democratic gubernatorial primary election were held today, which of these candidates would you vote for:
Vincent Sheheen: 26%
Jim Rex: 17%
Robert Ford: 12%
No opinion/Undecided: 45%
6. (AMONG LIKELY REPUBLICAN PRIMARY VOTERS) If the Republican primary for lieutenant governor were held today, which of these candidates would you vote for:
Larry Richter: 16%
Ken Ard: 14%
Bill Connor: 11%
Eleanor Kitzman 5%
No opinion/Undecided: 54%
The poll was conducted by InsiderAdvantage for Statehouse Report (South Carolina) on May 25 among registered voters and likely voters in the June 20 South Carolina Republican and Democratic primaries. The margin of error for the Republian primary questions is 3.8% (sample: 591 respondents). The margin of error for the Democratic primary questions is 5% (sample size: 402 respondents). The margin of error for the remainder of the questions is 2.7%(sample: 1,121 respondents). The margin of error is 5%. The data have been weighted for age, race, gender and political affiliation.
All InsiderAdvantage surveys are conducted using IVR automated technology. This technology helped make InsiderAdvantage one of the most accurate pollsters in the nation in the 2008 presidential race.
Oxendine still leads Georgia GOP governor’s race
May 19, 2010With the political campaign season ready to begin in earnest in Georgia, state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine still leads the pack among Republican hopefuls for governor, according to a new poll from InsiderAdvantage and WSB-TV/Atlanta.
Here are the results of the poll:
Q: If the election to determine the Republican candidate for governor were held today, who would you vote for to be the Republican nominee for governor?
John Oxendine: 23%
Nathan Deal: 15%
Karen Handel: 14%
Eric Johnson: 5%
Jeff Chapman: 2%
Ray McBerry: 2%
Otis Putnam: 0%
Undecided/No opinion: 39%
The poll was conducted by InsiderAdvantage for WSB-TV on May 18 among 423 likely voters in the Georgia Republican primary for governor. The margin of error is 5%. The data have been weighted for age, race, gender and political affiliation.
All InsiderAdvantage surveys are conducted using IVR automated technology. This technology helped make InsiderAdvantage one of the most accurate pollsters in the nation in the 2008 presidential race, and allowed IA to poll the 2009 Atlanta mayor’s race runoff to within .7% of the election’s outcome.
Analysis from Matt Towery, CEO of InsiderAdvantage
“As the candidates start to enter the time when they’re appearing more and more on local TV news, the public starts to pay more attention to the race. When campaigns enter this phase, it’s not uncommon to see the number of undecided voters fluctuate, and even increase.” [Editor’s note: The undecideds in the GOP governor’s race rose to 39% in this poll from 31% in an InsiderAdvantage poll of the race conducted in April.]
“It’s likely we’ll see fluctuations in polling results over the next month or so. By around the middle of June the race will begin to take a more definite shape as the candidates start to spend substantial money on TV ads and other high-profile political media,” he said. “By early July, we’ll likely now who the definite frontrunners are in this and other statewide races.
“Our polling indicates that voter turnout in the Georgia Republican primary July 20 may be historically large, especially given that gubernatorial election years in Georgia – ‘off-years’ for national politics – usually draw comparatively fewer voters to the polls than do elections in presidential years.
“Polling to date also suggests that turnout for the Democratic primary may be quite light. We should get a better read on this possibility when InsiderAdvantage polls the Democratic governor’s race next week,” said Towery.
New InsiderAdvantage poll: Georgians want Jessica Colotl deported
May 18, 2010Most Georgia voters who know about the he unfolding story of Kennesaw State University student Jessica Colotl want the 21-year-old illegal alien deported to her native Mexico. That’s according to a new poll conducted by InsiderAdvantage for Atlanta’s WSB-TV/Channel 2.
The poll asked: “Recently a student at Kennesaw State University who entered the United States at the age of 10 from Mexico and who is now 21 has been in the news. Are you…”
Aware of story and support efforts to deport her: 46%
Aware of story and oppose efforts to deport her: 16%
Not aware of the story and so have no opinion: 38%
The poll was conducted by InsiderAdvantage for WSB on May 17, 2010. The margin of error is plus or minus 4%. The data have been weighted for age, race, gender and political affiliation.
Colotl has become national news, all the more because her story has cropped up right when America is intensely debating the issue of illegal immigration, and particularly the new law passed in Arizona to deal with illegals.
Colotl was arrested in March in Georgia for driving without a license. Immigration officials later placed her in a detention center in Alabama. She was released after much effort on her behalf by school officials, sorority sisters and others at Kennesaw. Now federal officials say they won’t pursue her case until after she completes her college studies.
But Cobb County law enforcement officials obtained a warrant for Colotl’s arrest. Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren said she lied about her address when she was originally booked into jail – a felony in Georgia. So her legal problems continue, and her career at Kennesaw may still be in jeopardy. Colotl turned herself in on May 14, and was later released on bail.
Whatever happens legally, Colotl’s story has become a political hot potato in Georgia and across the nation. Much media fanfare has been raised on her behalf, but most Georgians aren’t sympathizing with her.
Significantly, opposition to Colotl staying in America isn’t coming predominantly from the political right. While 46% of all Georgia voters support deportation, the number swells to 67% among voters who label themselves as independents. This startling number may tell us about more than just the illegal immigration issue; it may reveal broader implications about the political landscape in Georgia, the South and the nation as we head into the contentious 2010 election season.
Said Matt Towery, CEO of InsiderAdvantage and a national newspaper columnist with Creators Syndicate: “The poll indicates that independent voters are more upset about issues such as illegal immigration than are established Republican voters.
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