Polls

Perdue numbers hit new low; fracking veto could help

| Tom Jensen

Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. –
For the second month in a row Bev Perdue’s disapproval rating has hit its highest mark ever. 59% of voters are unhappy with the job she’s doing to only 30% who approve. Those numbers make her the most unpopular Governor in the country out of more than 40 sitting ones that PPP has polled on.

At the end of 2011 Perdue had a 37% approval rating with 48% of voters disapproving of her, but her numbers have gradually gotten worse since she announced she wouldn’t seek reelection. The main decline has been with Democrats. In December she had a net +30 approval with 58% of them approving of her to 28% who disapproved. That’s now dropped all the way down to +9 with only 47% giving her good marks and 38% unhappy.

Perdue has an opportunity right now to help improve her standing with the Democratic base by vetoing the fracking bill the House passed yesterday. A recent PPP poll conducted for a private client found that North Carolina Democrats oppose fracking by an almost 2:1 margin.

“Bev Perdue is running out of chances to secure a positive legacy with North Carolina Democrats,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Vetoing the fracking bill is one thing she could do to make sure she leaves office in better standing at least with her party base. The ship sailed with Republican voters a long time ago.”

Shifting gears, PPP has looked many times at how voters in the state feel about the North Carolina-Duke rivalry, but never at the other permutations of the big three. North Carolinians cheer for the Tar Heels over North Carolina State by a 37-22 margin, although a 41% plurality don’t care one way or the other. When it comes to North Carolina State and Duke the Pack have the edge by a 40-26 margin. And we also took yet another look at public opinion on UNC and Duke and find the Tar Heels leading 42-25.

North Carolina fans root for NC State when they’re facing off with Duke. Duke fans are split on the UNC/NC State rivalry, and State fans are as well when it comes to UNC playing Duke.

PPP surveyed 810 North Carolina voters from June 7th  to June 10th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.4%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

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

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Bev
Perdue’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .30%
Disapprove…………. .59%
Not sure …………….. .11%

Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of the job the
General Assembly is doing?
Approve …………….. .23%
Disapprove…………. .50%
Not sure …………….. .27%

Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the Democrats in the North Carolina
Legislature?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 33%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 48%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 19%

Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the Republicans in the North Carolina
Legislature?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 34%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 49%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q5 If there was an election for the state legislature
today, would you vote Democratic or
Republican?
Democratic……………………………………………… 41%
Republican……………………………………………… 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q6 When North Carolina and North Carolina State
play in sports, who do you root for?
UNC………………………………………………………. 37%
NCSU ……………………………………………………. 22%
Don’t care ………………………………………………. 41%

Q7 When North Carolina and Duke play in sports,
who do you root for?
UNC………………………………………………………. 42%
Duke ……………………………………………………… 25%
Don’t care ………………………………………………. 33%

Q8 When North Carolina State and Duke play in
sports, who do you root for?
NCSU ……………………………………………………. 40%
Duke ……………………………………………………… 26%
Don’t care ………………………………………………. 34%

Q9 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 46%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 46%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 8%

Q10 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 13%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 13%
Moderate………………………………………………… 26%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 28%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 21%

Q11 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%

Q12 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 ……………………………………………….. 44%
Republican……………………………………………… 36%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 20%

Q13 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 73%
African-American …………………………………….. 22%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%

Q14 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………………………………………………….. 14%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 28%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 38%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

Q15 Area Code
252………………………………………………………… 11%
336………………………………………………………… 21%
704………………………………………………………… 20%
828………………………………………………………… 12%
910………………………………………………………… 14%
919………………………………………………………… 23%

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