Other notes from Alabama and Mississippi

In addition to asking about the Presidential race in Alabama and Mississippi we also touched on some other issues in those states:

-There's considerable skepticism about Barack Obama's religion with Republican voters in them. In Mississippi only 12% of voters think Obama's a Christian to 52% who think he's a Muslim and 36% who are not sure. In Alabama just 14% think Obama's a Christian to 45% who think he's a Muslim and 41% who aren't sure.

Mitt Romney dominates the 'Obama's a Christian' vote in both states. He leads Santorum 42-28 with those folks in Mississippi and has a 38-21 lead over him with them in Alabama. In Mississippi Newt's winning the 'Obama's a Muslim' vote 39-28, but in Alabama it's a three way tie with all of the leading candidates at 31%.

-We continue to see evidence that Rush Limbaugh's damaged his brand over the last few weeks. His favorability is only slightly over 50% in these two states where the Republican electorate is incredibly conservative- he's at 53/33 in Alabama and 51/30 in Mississippi. Given that our last national survey on Limbaugh, taken a few years ago, found him at 80/12 with Republicans it's safe to say he's fallen a long way in these states.

-Alabama's pretty much on board with interracial marriage, with 67% of voters thinking it should be legal to 21% who think it should not be. There's still some skepticism in Mississippi though- only 54% of voters think it should be legal, while 29% believe it should be illegal. Newt cleans up with the 'interracial marriage should be illegal' crowd in both states. He's up 40-27 on Romney with them in Mississippi and 37-28 with them in Alabama.

-There's evidence that Haley Barbour's pardons on his way out the door as Governor of Mississippi hurt his standing in the state. 64% of Republican primary voters say they have a favorable opinion of him now to 27% with a negative one. Those numbers aren't bad, but they're a far cry from November when he had an 86/7 approval spread with GOP partisans in the state. Only 24% of Republicans say they approve of his pardons, while 62% disapprove.

-Alabama Republican voters skew heavily toward the Crimson Tide, with 58% identifying as Alabama fans to 28% who are Auburn fans. Santorum leads the way among Tiger fans with 35% to 30% for Gingrich and 26% for Romney. Romney's up 32-31 on Gingrich with 'Bama fans to Santorum's 27%. And among football agnostics Romney leads with 34% to 28% for Gingrich and 24% for Santorum.

-Finally there's considerable skepticism about evolution among GOP voters in both Alabama and Mississippi. In Alabama only 26% of voters believe in it, while 60% do not. In Mississippi just 22% believe in it, while 66% do not. Romney wins the 'voters who believe in evolution' vote  (33-27 over Gingrich in Alabama, 38-32 over Gingrich in Mississippi.) Santorum wins the 'voters who don't believe in evolution' vote (34-33 over Gingrich in both Alabama and Mississippi with Romney at 26%)

Comments

[George]

Any tweets on NC or PA, especially the Presidential general election trial heats? Statewide polls all across the country from every polling firm have been dead for the past week...pretty unusual.

[HinterlandG]

It's amazing that the myth about Obama's religion has so many adherents in pockets all across the U.S. I am not surprised about the high percentage in the Deep South. History is always front and center.

[George]

Guess it is ok to have married and divorced several time, but it is a problem with monogamous interracial marriages...good Christian fundamentalist values, these southern Republicans!

[sierraseven]

"Alabama's pretty much on board with interracial marriage, with 67% of voters thinking it should be legal to 21% who think it should not be."

"Pretty much on board"? Really? In the 21st century, having nearly a quarter of the respondents opposed to interracial marriage looks like "pretty much on board" to you?

[Louise Johnson]

What do you expect, Mississippi is last in everthing. Check out their education.

[glenn palmer-smith]

in the universe stupidity is more abundant than hydrogen

[Angela]

It is heartening to see an informed electorate committed to voting in the primaries. They don't believe the President is a Christian or in evolution. More people support football teams that believe either the President or in evolution. The only bright note is that football out ranks Limbaugh. I guess the new slogan for the Republican Party should be "They're ignorant and misinformed but they vote."

[robert dole]

MISSISSIPPI, MY STATE. >:C

[Dr. WF Hull]

it is beyond me how people could be so under educated

[Sharon Mills]

Why are you still asking this question???

[Robert]

These southerners are a bunch of morons!

[Jeremy Parker]

Where are the democrats who were asked these questions and where is the information behind your numbers? We need more information on your process and unbiased questions showing answers from both sides. We aren't just going to take your word for it.

[Kevin]

I was contacted for this poll. And I could not believe they are wasting time on the legality of interracial marriage and evolution.

[Clark]

Any wonder why Alabama and Mississippi rank dead last in every important stat involving education, health, etc. Alabama and Mississippi have earned this reputation over the past 150 years and refuse to live in the real world. I live in Louisiana and its not much better with our governor who has trashed the education budget, refuses to fund senior citizen services and has taken away money from our health and hospitals.Its the attitudes of the citizens in MS, AL and LA that will re-elect President Obama and why the GOP is a train wreck.

[Vic Fedorov]

Phrase the question, "do you really, think Obama is a Muslim?" inflect on'really '. Most will say they just kiddin white people.

[Bill Allen]

Offer them $100 if they can correctly identify the President's religious affiliation and watch those numbers change! There's a difference between ignorance and obstinance.

[Michael Wisper]

Wow1 Big shock! Really, ALABAMA?? What do you expect from a state with more than it's share of ignorant crackers who believe everything they're told. Until you ASK them, the only ones spouting off fallacies about Obama's religion have been the Republican Presidential Candidates...oh, yeah, and the ignoramuses that make up the Tea Party. Consider the source. These people do no, will not and will NEVER think for themselves, much less listen to reasoned arguments. These are the people who still STRING UP black people, so Barack's getting off EASY just being called a Muslim. And in any case, what exactly do those morons KNOW about the Muslim religion? Not enough to write a treatise about it, no doubt. They need to stay out of the polling booths and go back to in-breeding...now THERE'S something they know about!

[Sam Seaman]

Pity these guys don't believe in evolution -it looks like they all have a quite a bit to do, to catch up with the rest of the planet.

[E. Donald Kaye]

I don't doubt the polling but wonder if some are not just saying that and really know better.

What scares me is that Hitler came to power in a fair election because the German people were tired of the Weimar Republic and reparations from WWI and a host of other reasons they didn't really understand so they went for the liar who promised them everything including world domination.The ignorami in the South especially but also elsewhere in our country, might easily vote for the most radical right-wing, theocracy-loving strident candidate because they hate all government, all taxes, all blacks and themselves. So we'd get a modern version of Hitler or something like that and our democracy would continue its spiral into nothingness.

[Archie1954]

My goodness the South is full of ignorant people! I wonder if there is any help for them available? There probably aren't enough mental insitutions around to accomodate the Republican crowd that desperately need to find psychiatric assistance.

[Yrag]

Dem der people's got lotsa heat down der...not much in da way of brains ....

[W. Edwardss]

Southerners that think Pres. Obama is a Muslim are totally illiterate.

[Elizabeth]

As I follow the opening stages of men and women vying for the serious, probably at times overwhelming, task of the presidency of our country, I come to the conclusion that a Republic, or a Democracy, built on lies - from whatever direction - is doomed to fail.

[Todd Dugdale]

Jeremy wrote:
"Where are the democrats who were asked these questions and where is the information behind your numbers?"

The results were linked in the last post: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_SouthernSwing_312.pdf

All of the questions asked are shown there. If you read that, you will see that this was a poll on *the Republican primary* in MS and AL. This should explain why there were no Democrats in the sample.

It took me all of five seconds to find the results. It probably took you longer to write your outraged and misguided comment.

[Judy]

I have lived in numerous states including OH, TN, FL, IL, CA and now in southern AL on the Gulf of Mexico. The citizens of this area are polite, helpful, giving, take care of family, work hard, etc. However, many of them, even the educated, are firm in their political beliefs that have probably been in their family for generations. Change is not easy for them and the "good old boy" politicians work away at that loyalty...........blind faith elects many of them And, many are reelected time and time again. I am not sure much will change the status quo here, so maybe we need to concentrate on voters where the chances are greater to influence their votes for those willing to go the extra mile in creating change for the better. In my opinion, all of our elected officials need to understand good listening, be prepared for discussions and understand COMPROMISE. How refreshing is that thought?

[Nancy Woodward]

Am not surprised that others think as I do - that Obama is not a Christian.
For him to have said publicly that he is a Christian tells me he isn't.
Obama is known for saying the opposite of what he thinks and what he plans to do. That is why some Democrats who favored him before have turned away.

[Bruce Michael]

Jeremy, why are you the only one who didn't look into the numbers, who was asked, what they were asked, etc.. I did. I guess you won't take our word on evolution either? Or have you figured that one out already?

[Bruce Michael]

PPP surveyed 656 likely Republican voters in Mississippi and 600 likely Republican primary voters in Alabama on March 10th and 11th. The margin of error for the Mississippi poll is +/-3.8% and for the Alabama poll it’s +/-4.0%.

This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

[Jesus LOL]

And this is why we cannot have a democracy. How can we trust you plebeian artards with anything even remotely important as nuclear weapons when your simian melons cannot contemplate the concept of the scientific method?

[Tom]

Attaboy, Bobby Joe. Igorance yewr constitutional rite, and no uppity Muslim's gonna take it away from ya. Vote fer Noot, y'all.

[Sheryl]

Maybe the intelligent people here (I'm in Alabama) just weren't available to answer the poll? Hard to believe we're all so ignorant here.

[George]

Clark:

Louisiana governor is of Indian origin. I am pretty sure if he entered the Presidential race half the southern whites will think that he is an idol worshipping Hindoo! How he ever got elected and re-elected in LA is a mystery to me. Perhaps you can explain. I will not buy the "Asians are near-white argument." I am sure such a reaction would be an insult to southern whites and definitely an insult high achieving Asians in this country.

Anyhow, I am waiting for the PA Presidential polls. Should tell us something about the national race which is a mixed bag so far for Obama at least in the past week. Also would like to see more state polls not just from PPP but from other pollsters as well. We also need a national Presidential poll from PPP.

[John]

By these standards, Afghanistan is a haven of freedom and tolerance.

[Tom]

I would like to see the results of similar questions from other states. I believe that you would find similar sentiments among GOP voters in other parts of the US. It may be worse in MS and AL, but the GOP have become a party that not only exploits this sort of ignorance but promotes it. Look around ... you can find morons all over the country.

[Justin Long]

I'd like to see this obviously largely uniformed, oblivious swath of poll participants this extremely biased poll used. Just because MS ranks low in education doesn't mean the majority of it's citizens are uneducated. Maybe undereducated, but not uneducated.

[Tsao Hsuen-Chin]

"Why are you still asking this question???" - Sharon Mills

If 29% of Mississippi's voters think interracial marriage should be illegal than it's definitely a fair question. The law banning such marriages wasn't overturned in Mississippi until 1967. This was within my lifetime not the distant past as it should have been. It seems some states have been a little slow getting on the train.

[StewartIII]

NewsBusters: NBC Discredits Faulty Dem Poll of GOP Voters Thinking Obama is Muslim...After MSNBC Hyped It
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2012/03/13/nbc-discredits-faulty-dem-poll-gop-voters-thinking-obama-muslimafter-m

[marvin]

How can u read this and not believe in evolution. Stands to reason that some evolve slower than others and maybe some just don't.

[Brandon Kaiser]

Thank goodness that the majority of the country isn't so misinformed. I really believe in the right to vote, but (and this is a big but) everyone shouldn't be allowed. Not because they aren't of the same beliefs as myself, but because they simply aren't qualified to weigh in on subjects with such importance. I admit that my knowledge is limited as well. I do however know that the leader of the free world is not Muslim. I wouldnt care if he were. After 4 years of service , speaking out for who you would or would not wish to be representative of your nation , should be important enough to research on the most basic levels . I almost want to say that if a person can't answer 3 basic questions about a presidential candidate then you don't have the right to cancel out another man's vote.

[Kevin Davidson]

As someone born and raised in Alabama, all I can say is, "thank God for Mississippi."

[Nope]

Refreshing to know that from such a small sample of individuals per state so many, many commentators whose bigotry is just as awful feel so justified in perpetuating their own brand of illogical hate. I guess it's okay to say all Southern Republicans are alike, isn't it?

By the way, just so you don't have the wrong idea I am a Southerner, North Carolina, and a staunch liberal.

[Shannon]

@StewartIII this NBC article you link is not a "discredit," it's just an opinion. Let's see some real analysis by people who know what they're talking about, and not just some skeptic saying "I think it's designed to make the numbers higher...."

Secondly, even if the numbers are, for example 10% inflated, which is unlikely, you can safely assume that the majority of people are answering truthfully and not just deliberately skewing the results - this is generally true in surveys, only a small percentage generally lie. So if the numbers are 37% and 42% that is still pretty sad.

Note nobody's discussing or disputing the other results of the survey, like being against interracial marriage.

[Billy Bob]

So much hate and disgust of the south. Why the hell did the US fight a war to keep it?

[Mark Schloegel]

Stereotypical Southern bias to make the South look bad is a very tired and lame argument. Mississippi is not at the bottom and using statistical percentages is very misleading. Why did Nissan, Toyota, Northrop Grumman, GE Aviation, American Eurocopter, NASA, Rolls Royce, to name a few...choose to invest billions in Mississippi? And I would add a long list for Alabama and Louisiana as well. We have a great quality of life, a very business friendly atmosphere, quality workforce, etc. Using stats on Obesity, Education, Infant Mortality, etc are misleading. There are more fat uneducated people in cities like Chicago, NYC, DC, or LA than even live in the whole state of Mississippi. You don't see us beating up on them.

[Bubba Gump]

Those companies went south for the same reason they go to Mexico or China.., cheap, unskilled labor.

[Bob]

Whenever these polls are made, I wonder why it is the results seem to be translated by everyone else as "100% of Mississippians/Alabamians believe that interracial marriage is illegal and that Obama is a Muslim?"