Polls

Southern voters glad North won Civil War

| Tom Jensen

Header-poll-results
Civilwar Raleigh, N.C. –
A lot has been made recently about southern attitudes toward race and the old Confederacy 150 years after the start of the Civil War, fueled in part by PPP’s recent poll which showed that more Mississippi Republican primary voters think interracial marriage should be illegal than legal.  But for the most part, residents of three southern states—Mississippi, North Carolina, and Georgia—prove that American culture and politics are becoming less and less regional in the digital age.  This is especially true in the latter two states, which have experienced a large influx of immigrants from the North and Midwest in the last 20 to 30 years.

Except in Mississippi, most voters in these states are glad the Union won the “War Between the States” instead of the South.  53% say that in Georgia, 48% in North Carolina, and 34% in Mississippi.  But still fewer in Mississippi (27%) would prefer that General Lee’s troops had prevailed; a 39% plurality are not sure.  Similarly, only 21% in North Carolina and 23% in Georgia wish the South had won.

Most of the thrust behind the support for the CSA does come from Republicans, though. Tar Heel Republicans are glad the union stayed together only by a 35-33 margin, while 55% of Democrats and 57% of independents are happy the North won.  In Mississippi, Republicans actually are disappointed in the outcome by a 38-21 spread, while Democrats and independents align at least as strongly in the opposite direction.  The Georgia GOP is the most mainstream on this front, siding with the North, 47-31, but that is still lower than Democrats’ 58% and independents’ 54% support for the U.S.

On the interracial marriage question, majorities of all voters in each state think it should be legal- 68% of North Carolinians, 62% of Georgians, and 54% of Mississippians.  Even Republicans say this by almost a 2:1 margin in the first two states; only in Mississippi are Republicans against it.

PPP surveyed 790 Georgia voters from March 31st to April 3rd, for a +/-3.5% margin of error; 817 Mississippi voters from March 24th to 27th, for a +/-3.4% margin of error; and  507 North Carolina voters from April 14th to 17th, for a +/-4.4% margin of error.  This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization.  PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.  PPP is a Democratic polling company but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Georgia results

Q1 Do you think interracial marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 62%
Illegal …………………………………………………….. 22%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%

Q2 Are you glad that the North won the Civil War
or do you wish that the South had won?
Glad the North won………………………………….. 53%
Wish the South had won…………………………… 23%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 24%

Q3 Do you have a higher opinion of the NAACP or
the Ku Klux Klan?
NAACP ………………………………………………….. 59%
KKK ………………………………………………………. 7%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 34%

Q4 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 47%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 42%
Someone Else/Don’t Remember………………… 11%

Q5 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 15%
Moderate………………………………………………… 26%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 28%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 20%

Q6 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%

Q7 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a
Republican, press 2. If you are an independent
or identify with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 39%
Republican……………………………………………… 40%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 21%

Q8 If you are white, press 1. If African American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 65%
African American……………………………………… 29%
Other……………………………………………………… 6%

Q9 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 18%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 24%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 38%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

 

North Carolina results

Q1 Do you think interracial marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal …………………. .68%
Illegal ………………… .20%
Not sure …………….. .12%

Q2 Are you glad that the North won the Civil War
or do you wish that the South had won?
Glad the North won the Civil War ……….. 48%
Wish the South had won ……………………….21%
Not sure ……………………………………………….31%

Q3 Do you have a higher opinion of the NAACP or
the Ku Klux Klan?
NAACP ……………… .58%
KKK ………………….. . 8%
Not sure …………….. .34%

Q4 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 48%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 46%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 6%

Q5 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 9%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 14%
Moderate………………………………………………… 32%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 22%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 22%

Q6 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%

Q7 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 46%
Republican……………………………………………… 36%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 18%

Q8 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 74%
African-American …………………………………….. 22%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%

Q9 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 10%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 25%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 45%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

Q10
252………………………………………………………… 8%
336………………………………………………………… 26%
704………………………………………………………… 20%
828………………………………………………………… 13%
910………………………………………………………… 11%
919………………………………………………………… 21%

 

Mississippi results

Q1 Do you think interracial marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 54%
Illegal …………………………………………………….. 28%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 18%

Q2 Are you glad that the North won the Civil War
or do you wish that the South had won?
Glad the North won………………………………….. 34%
Wish the South had won…………………………… 27%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 39%

Q3 Do you have a higher opinion of the NAACP or
the Ku Klux Klan?
NAACP ………………………………………………….. 49%
KKK ………………………………………………………. 9%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 42%

Q4 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 54%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 40%
Someone Else/Don’t Remember………………… 7%

Q5 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 11%
Moderate………………………………………………… 28%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 26%

Q6 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 56%
Man……………………………………………………….. 44%

Q7 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a
Republican, press 2. If you are an independent
or identify with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 40%
Republican……………………………………………… 40%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 20%

Q8 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 63%
African-American …………………………………….. 33%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%

Q9 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 43%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 19%

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