Mississippi, Ohio, and Iowa SD-18 Question Suggestion Thread

Mississippi and Iowa SD-18 won our vote on where to poll this weekend and we're going to poll Ohio too.

In Mississippi we'll definitely ask about the Gubernatorial race and the amendments involving abortion and voter ID. In Iowa we'll ask about the State Senate election.  In Ohio we'll ask about the SB 5 repeal and the health care question. In all 3 we'll ask about the Republican Presidential race, and in Mississippi and Ohio we'll ask about the general election Presidential race.

Beyond all that, what would you like to see us ask about in these states?

Comments

[FairTaxNancy]

In Ohio, ask about Issues 2 & 3.

[David]

Yay! Bonus. Thanks PPP!

In Ohio, you are already asking Issues 2 & 3. I'd also ask Issue 1 as the Ohio Democratic Party officially opposes the measure and it would be interesting to see the breakdown by Party ID especially considering the polarization on 2 & 3. Maybe also ask favorite college football team among the colleges in Ohio

In Mississippi, you might want to ask the Eminent Domain Proposition too, and also poll AG (only Dem left in statewide office) and Treasurer (the Dems have a serious candidate, though she will probably lose).

[Jeff]

For Ohio, polling the administration's handling of Solyndra would be useful to see if the issue is resonating in swing states.

For Mississippi, the generic legislative ballot would be good. Also worth polling is the AG race, and opinions about the last few governors of the state. Secession would also be a fun question, as would the favorables of Jefferson Davis.

For Iowa SD-18, a generic legislative ballot would be great: worth seeing how much the race is being determined by local issues and the candidates versus the more big picture things about who should be in control of the state government.

[jmartin4s]

For Mississippi please poll Attorney General and Treasurer.

[SV]

Poll Jim Hood's race in MS.

[Mark B.]

I would be eternally grateful to you folks at PPP if you would poll the actual ballot wording on Ohio Question 2!

Also, though I know it wouldn't be that informative to poll a state generic legislative ballot in Mississippi, it would say something, and I'd like to see that there.

Thanks for asking!

[Bazinga !]

In Mississippi, please poll:

* Governor
* 2012 President (general+primary election)
* 2012 US Senate
* gay marriage + interracial marriage
* personhood amendment
* voter ID
* if MS voters want the electoral college abolished (National Popular Vote)

[John]

In Mississippi, be sure to poll the attorney general's race and generic legislative ballot. Maybe favorables for Travis Childers, Ronnie Musgrove, and Gene Taylor as well.
In Iowa, maybe ask favorability or approval for Bruce Braley, and test him versus Generic R, since Linn County was just moved into the 1st under the new maps. Maybe a question about the effect gay marriage had on their vote as well.

[Phil]

For MS, poll the AG's race and Wicker vs. Hood, Taylor, and Childers. Some Pres primary and Wicker vs. "More Conservative" primary numbers would also be nice to see.

For OH, a generic congressional ballot would be interesting (given there's a small possibility the state could wind up electing Reps at large).

[Mike]

As I mentioned earlier for Ohio, if you could use the actual ballot language along with the issue number while polling, it would help diffuse any criticism of "leading" polling questions. Also, using likely voters instead of registered voters would be very helpful! It would be good to see how many voters in the poll voted early and what the early voters voted for.

As for questions, I think it would be interesting to see what the support for OWS and the tea party is among *likely* voters in all the states you are polling.

For Iowa, a good question to ask is whether voters want one party GOP control of the house, senate and governorship and is that idea affecting their voting.

Thank you for polling Ohio again. I know you just did it a few weeks ago, but the issues are very important here and nationally.

[Barry from PA]

Please see what percentage supports gay marriage in these states.

[Jacob]

Ohio: Ask about Issues 1 and 3 as well.
Also ask about redistricting again.
Ask people who they would vote for in a matchup between LeBron James and John Kasich for Governor.

Mississippi: Ask about the Attorney General Race.
Ask voters if they would vote for Haley Barbour for a third term if that were an option.
Roger Wicker/ Ronnie Musgrove rematch.
Also test Travis Childers, Jim Hood and Mike Moore against Wicker.

Ask Mississippi if they think that corporations count as people under the personhood amendment should it pass.

Iowa: Ask people if they know that the vote will determine control of the State Senate and if this matters to their votes.

[RR]

Brown v. Generic R in Ohio. Obama v. Generic R.

Swati Dandekar favorables in IA-SD-18. How about a GOP presidential primary question that offers an option of Pawlenty still being in the race, since Pawlenty nostalgia is all the rage right now.

Democrats' opinion on segregation in MS. Remember that there was a poll done previously on the issue, and I don't recall ever seeing the Democratic side of that data released.

[GW]

MS Attorney General (Hood vs Simpson)

MS Generic ballot

MS Agricultural Commissioner race

[birchbeer]

I'd like to see support for issues polled and whether they affect votes. e.g. Do you support a tax on millionaires to support spending on infrastructure and aid to states designed to create jobs? Would you be less likely to vote for a candidate who did not support these? Same with voucherizing Medicare, Financial reform etc.

[Lori Martz]

Wicker vs Hood
Wicker vs Taylor
Wicker vs Musgrove
Wicker vs Childers
Wicker vs DuPage

Gene Taylor vs Steven Palazzo rematch in 2012.

[Dustin Ingalls]

"Democrats' opinion on segregation in MS. Remember that there was a poll done previously on the issue, and I don't recall ever seeing the Democratic side of that data released."

We released that. http://publicpolicypolling.typepad.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_GAMSNC_0421.pdf

[Noah]

For Mississippi, please poll the three ballot initiatives—personhood (VERY hot issue down here right now), eminent domain (widely supported), and photo ID requirement (widely supported). Since you poll some about colleges, I would be interested to see which of the three major universities—Ole Miss, Mississippi State, or Univ of Southern Miss—the people like/associate with most.

Also, most likely on the 2012 ballot (they're collecting signatures now) will be an initiative to bring back Colonel Reb as the Ole Miss mascot. I'd be interested to see how much support this has.

[Matthew]

Iowa, ask them what views on gay marriage are, and if gay marriage has any impact on who they are voting for.

[Mike]

I saw on twitter someone asking you to poll OSU's Luke Fickel's favorability/approval. I second that motion. It might also be fun to poll Braxton Miller and Joe Bauserman, the two quarterbacks. I think you've already done Ohio's favorite pro football teams, maybe favorite pro baseball teams? Just throwing some ideas out there...

[Trent Lott's hairstylist]

Here in Mississippi, the only elections of real intrigue are Guv, AG, and the state House of Reps (specifically, whether Dems will hold on to their slim majority). Most folks expect the Dem, Jim Hood, to win re-election as AG, and the only real question regarding Guv is whether the Dems can make a show of it (i.e., a single-digits margin).

The Personhood, eminent domain, and voter ID referenda all are very interesting. The Personhood one is of particular interest. On the ground, it FEELS like the "no" votes are gaining a lot of momentum, and Gov. Barbour's comments on MSNBC this week did nothing to slow that down. But both campaigns are running pretty low-budget shows, so I haven't seen any polling numbers. If I could pick only one issue to poll, it would be Personhood.

On the national level, there have been grumblings in MS-1 (northeast part of the state) and MS-4 (Gulf Coast) about Tea Party-backed challenges to the GOP incumbents, so that might be worth looking into as well.

Thanks for taking an interest!

[bww]

Is there a way to test how much people know/care about redistricting?

[Steve]

Here are my suggestions:

In Mississippi, please poll the following:
- Governor's race
- Presidential primary and general race (in primary, how is the Deep South responding to Herman Cain's sex scandal?)
- State legislative generic
- Personhood amendment
- Gay marriage like other states legal/illegal (don't forget that MS holds the record of 86% of voters rejecting gay marriage in 2004) - making it potentially the most conservative state in the Union on the issue.

In SD-18, please poll the following:
- Head to head between Mathis and Golding
- Gay marriage legal/illegal
- Small sample of reaction to Herman Cain's sex scandal

In Ohio, please poll the following:
- GOP primary and general election (esp with Herman Cain's sex scandal)
- Ballot measure regarding unions
- Congressional generic

Thanks for the opportunity to weigh in!

[Jacob]

Ohio: Poll a primary between Josh Mandel and "Generic Conservative." Ken Blackwell could be a good proxy for the "generic conservative" spot.

[mtm]

MS Generic Ballot for state house.
OH Brown vs Mandel
OH Obama vs Romney

[Morgan Whitacre]

I just want to thank you SO MUCH for polling Iowa SD-18. I have been suggesting it for weeks, and you finally paid attention. Thank you, Thank you. I know polling has become incredibly expensive, so I am very grateful. This issue is very important to me.

[T;Challa]

Hello PPP,

I would like you to ask the following questions in all three polls:

Do you believe that the Senate/House GOP is sabotaging the economy on purpose?

Do you believe in interracial marriage?

Do you think the President was born in the USA?

Do you think a National Solar/Wind/Natural Gas/Smart Grid Clean Energy Plan would help the USA lower the national unemployment rate?

Thanks
PPP

[T'Challa]

Hi PPP,

I was wondering in you could ask the following questions in all 3 polls:

Would you approve the KEYSTONE XL pipeline if it brought 10,000 temporary/500 permenant jobs in exchange for a 25% chance that an oil spill can damage The Ogallala Aquifer the only major drinking water resource in NEBRASKA plus it will run over an active earthquake fault?

Would you support US Senate approving Former Ohio AG Richard Cordary to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect US consumers against Wall Street financial companies?

Thanks,
T'Challa

[Gerald]

IA SD 18:

- A huge percentage of SD 18 voters are independent. They will determine the election. So I would definitely try to get responses broken down by party affiliation or independent status.

- I have never seen a conservative/moderate/liberal breakdown of SD 18. I do know that in 2008, the Dem outspent the Republican 9-1, but only won by a few percentage points. This would suggest a strong conservative slant, even if the party identifications are about equal. I would ask about ideological affiliation.

- Obviously, you should ask about the salience of gay marriage in their vote. However, you should do this differently from the way you attempted this in NY-9. I respectfully submit that your salience questioning in NY-9, was inadequate.

It doesn't mean anything if you ask voters whether an issue is important; you are after the ranking of issues, the importance of a given issue vis a vis the others. If you just list a bunch of issues and then ask whether each one is "important" or "somewhat important" then respondents can say that every issue is important. I know this is true b/c I was actually polled in this manner a few years ago and I wound up listing something like 3/4 of the issues as important. I was responding honestly to the questions as asked, but the results wouldn't really tell the pollster which issue or issues trumped the others.

If your polling method does not allow for issue ranking, then I would ask whether the marriage issue is "the primary factor" or "the most important factor" or the "decisive issue" in determining their vote. If you ask about other issues, I would suggest the same kind of approach, not the approach you used in NY-9.

- Favorable/unfavorable for: Terry Branstad, Mike Gronstal, Bob Vander Plaats, National Organization for Marriage.

[Sam Gedman]

When polling Mississippi you have to ask about the petition being circulated to reinstall "Colonel Rebel," as the official mascot of the University of Mississippi.