Where should we kick off our 2013/14 polling?

We've been giving you (and ourselves) a short break on the public polling but after Thanksgiving we'll get back to our normal two polls a week schedule and turn our eyes toward 2013/14...so...where would you like us to kick off our polling for the next cycle? We'll take suggestions through the weekend, pick finalists and put them to a vote on Monday, have voting through Thursday, take question suggestions for the winner next weekend, and launch them the Monday after Thanksgiving!

Comments

[Bill Johnson]

California - most of the statewide offices are up for re-election.

[Matt]

New Jersey Governor!

[DanvilleDemocrat]

New Jersey (governor), Virginia (governor).

For Virginia, who would voters rather see as governor again -- Mark Warner or Tim Kaine?

[Bob]

I think VA and NJ are the obvious choices.

[Peter Hanlon]

Ohio Governor, Virginia Governor

[Vilinthril]

Kentucky, Maine and South Carolina (Senate races, especially primary challenges v. Snowe and Grahams and general election numbers in Kentucky with Judd).

[David]

Definitely NJ and VA to kick off Gubernatorial elections.

[Matthew Johnson-doyle]

Illinois Gov: republican primary with A. Shock, K. Dillard, ?; dem primary with P. Quinn, B. Daley, L. Madigan, and general with those permutations . . . Reason: we have a very early Primary here. Quinn is unpopular, but dems might not try to primary him unless they see that Shock can beat him.... And don't forget to include Green in the general- usually gets 10% or so of actual vote, taking all from dems.

[Matt]

Booker vs. Christie
Hagan vs. Tillis

[Seth Hill]

Although it is highly unlikely that Julian Castro could oust Rick Perry for Governor of Texas, Castro is releasing an autobiography in 2014. Is there a possibility he is gearing up for a Gubernatorial run? Governor Perry's favorability ratings seem to have fallen as a result of his GOP Presidential primary flubs. Although a possible Castro upset would still leave the state red as far as the electoral college is concerned, there have historically been blue states with Republican governors: Reagan and Schwarzenegger in California, Romney in Massachusetts, as well as red states with Democratic Governors: Clinton in Arkansas, Schweitzer in Montana. It would be interesting to see how Castro stacks up against Rick Perry (or a general Republican if the Governor chooses not to run again).

[austin90]

You should poll based on some nail-biter 2012 races and see if voters would change their minds about their selections knowing how Congress and the White House ended up.

[Mary Zuschlag]

I would be interested in seeing something related to the fiscal cliff. Who do voters feel is causing gridlock for resolution of the fiscal cliff?

[Bazinga !]

New Jersey and Virginia would be the best choices.

[Jess3532]

South Carolina and New Jersey

Virginia got polled many times in 2011/2012 as it is a swing state. We know how it will work.

[Aaron]

Kentucky Senate, Ohio Governor, West Virginia Senate (With Capitol and no Rockefeller)

[Joe]

Kentucky Senate is 2014's biggest race. Poll these Dems against McConnell: Alison Lundergan Grimes, Ashley Judd, Steve Beshear, Jerry Abramson. Also generic Dem.

[Brigham]

Montana!

Primarying Max Baucus isn't just the top priority for Democrats nationwide in 2014, it is also the only chance we have to hold the seat.

[Tom]

Delaware and Rhode Island gay marriage support!!!!

[John]

Colorado.

Udall's US Senate seat is up in 2014, but the action will start very soon. It should probably be an exciting GOP primary and general election.

Also, the race for the state Senate will be interesting. The Colorado Senate was the only vulnerable Democratic-controlled state chamber that didn't flip in 2010, but barely. The 2014 races will be very interesting given the number of seats the Dems need to defend.

[Mark B.]

Massachusetts!

[GH]

New Jersey - "Do you believe that Chris Christie should run for the Republican Presidential nomination of election-year 2016?"

NJ - "If a gubernatorial election was held today and the candidates on the ballot were incumbent governor Chris Christie and Mayor of Newark Cory Booker, who would you vote for?"

Virginia - [For the 2013 Democratic primary voters] "If a primary for the gubernatorial election was held today and the candidates on the ballot were Tom Perriello and Mark Warner, who would you vote for?"

VA - [For the 2013 Republican primary voters] "If a primary for the gubernatorial election was held today and the candidates on the ballot were Bill Boiling and Ken Cuccinelli, who would you vote for?"

VA - "Do you support the state's one-term limit for governors?"

VA - "If an election for the US Senate was held today and the candidates on the ballot were Bob McDonnell and incumbent Mark Warner, who would you vote for?"

Texas: "Should Rick Perry seek a fourth term as governor of Texas?"

TX: [For the Republican primary voters] "If a primary for the 2014 gubernatorial election was held today and the candidates on the ballot were incumbent Rick Perry and attorney general Greg Abbott, who would you vote for?"

TX: "If a gubernatorial election was held today, would you vote for incumbent Rick Perry or for the Democratic nominee?"

Kentucky: "In an election for the US senate was held today, would you vote for incumbent Mitch McConnell or the Democratic nominee?"

[Zack Brown]

A Texas poll on secession would be awesome.

[James C.]

Cory Booker is a possible candidate for New Jersey governor, and a possible presidential candidate as well. One thing I didn't know about him is that he's a vegetarian. I can find absolutely zero polling data about what people think of vegetarians. All I can find are polls saying the number of vegetarians is around 3%. Anecdotally, I've noticed some strongly negative online comments on stories about vegetarianism. I wonder what the results of "Would you vote for a vegetarian" would be, similar to questions about ethnic minorities, gays, atheists, Mormons, etc.

[Mike]

The following states have potentially competitive senate races that I don't believe you or anyone has looked at yet:
Alaska: Begich barely won in strong Dem year against controversial Ted Stevens. Try Sean Parnell, Dan Sullivan, Joe Miller
Arkansas: Though Pryor was unopposed in 2008, Arkansas has gone from 1 of 6 GOP congressional seat to 5 of 6 in the past 4 years. Try Tom Cotton, Tim Griffin, Steve Womack
Montana: Baucus has lost popularity after his healthcare vote. Try him against Schweitzer in a primary and each against Rehberg, Marc Raicicot, Rick Hill
New Hampshire: Shaheen's probably in good shape, but you never know. Try Sununu, Lamontagne, Guinta, Charlie Bass
South Dakota: Same story as Montana, but Tim Johnson is in bad shape and may retire. Try him and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin against Mike Rounds and Kristi Noem
Kentucky: Dems will obviously go after this one. Try Steve Beshear (even though he said he wouldn't run), Jerry Abramson, Alison Grimes, Daniel Mongiard
Louisiana: Try Landrieu against Jindal, Cassidy

[Brandon]

I'd love to see Christie vs. Booker get polled, as well as McAuliffe vs. Cucinelli/Bolling in Virginia.

I'm also curious as to how Nikki Haley is holding up in SC voters minds. Let's see how she holds up against a Sheheen rematch.

And as someone mentioned above, a Perry vs. Castro poll in Texas would be riveting.

[Mark]

NJ - Booker vs. Christie
Indiana - potential constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions
Ohio - Governor and gay marriage ban repeal

[Anonymous]

Virginia Primary - Warner vs. McAuliffe

[Mike]

We haven't seen approval ratings of Gov. Pat Quinn in Illinois for a long time. Considering he's up for re-election in 2014, I'd be interested in how he fares against GOP opponents such as Rep. Aaron Schock, Kirk Dillard, etc. I'm a fan of Quinn's work, but he has one of the lowest approval ratings in the country, according to PPP's 2010 or 2011 list.

There are even whispers of him being primaried by Lisa Madigan, Bill Daley, Toni Preckwinkle, etc. How would he fare in a primary?

[Mike]

And just as a contrast in that Illinois poll, see how one of the most popular senators in the country -- Dick Durbin -- does in a head-to-head poll for the Senate in 2014. Tea Partier loser Joe Walsh has even hinted at running for the seat. How would he do against Durbin?

Also check out the approval ratings of Mark Kirk. He's been out for a year now. He's up for re-election in in the presidential year of 2016. How would he do in a year that isn't a wave election like 2010 was?

[Adam]

Poll some potentially vulnerable democrats in 2014: Begich in Alaska, Pryor in Arkansas, Landrieu in Louisiana, Baucus in Montana.

[Jason]

Florida governor election- Rick Scott vs Alex Sink rematch, Rick Scott vs Charlie Christ, Rick Scott vs Alex Sink vs Charlie Christ (independent). Most interested in Alex Sink vs Charlie Christ in Democratic primary!

[Jeff]

Arkansas would be good. Worth seeing if Pryor starts in a stronger position than Blanche Lincoln did for reelection, and worth seeing how the open governor's race starts out.

[Robert_1987]

New Jersey - governor
Virginia - governor
Oregon - governor and gay marriage (ballot initiative to legalize in 2014 is very likely}
Delaware - gay marriage
Rhode Island - governor and Senate races, gay marriage
Ohio - governor and gay marriage
Pennsylvania- governor

[Jacob]

Ohio!! Kasich vs. Strickland rematch.
North Carolina. See what people think about the ongoing Forest/Coleman race and Senate 2014.
Maine. Look at Paul LePage's chances at reelection and the Senate race.

[Thomas]

Definitely New Jersey and Virginia.
-New Jersey Governor Cory Booker and Richard Codey vs. Chris Christie.
-2014 Senate Cory Booker vs. Frank Lautenberg and Frank Lautenberg vs. generic republican.

In Virginia
-Terry McAuliffe vs. Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli for Governor. Also Bolling vs. Cuccinelli.
-2014 Senate Mark Warner vs. Bob McDonnell would be great too.

[Mark Abernathy]

Vermont. Such a lonely state! Hardly received any attention lately. :) It's where I live.

Though I would agree a Texas and Louisiana poll on secession would be cool, and probably more desired.

If it were possible to poll Puerto Rico about Statehood ...

[Morgan Whitacre]

New Jersey Governor
Virginia Governor and Attorney General (there are names on both sides being thrown around)

Also, if you guys could, when you poll KY-Sen 2014 could you include Ashley Judd and then Allison Lundergan Grimes as potential match-ups?

[ChuckInSeattle]

I'm interested in 2 categories:
2014 Senate races: Alaska, Louisiana, Arkansas, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, etc. Maybe New Jersey

And marriage equality: Oregon, Hawaii, Illinois, Rhode Island, Delaware. Maybe California, New Jersey, Colorado, and Minnesota. (And, because Alaska is the 2nd youngest state, I'm curious there too.)

(So I think a New Jersey would be interesting. Especially with a Booker/Christie guv race.)

[Jacob]

You should do a Georgia Poll at some point too. Test John Barrow for Senate and Jim Marshall for Governor.

[Matthew Hancock]

Louisiana, North Carolina, and Alaska seem to be the Senate seats most likely to change party in 2014. Approval ratings for incumbents (Landrieu, Hagan, Begich) would be great. Even better would be polls versus a generic Republican.

[Kris Tenkoval]

Word is that Schweitzer is planning to run as an Independent for Senate in Montana. So the poll to do would be Baucus-D, Schweitzer-I, Daines-R in a general election.

[jfxgillis]

Prepare for special elections soon, particularly another Senate race in Massachusetts if John Kerry accepts a cabinet positions.

Questions? Alabama versus Notre Dame, of course.

[Philip D.]

Please poll gay marriage in Oregon, New Jersey, Hawaii, Delaware, and Illinois. You guys were pretty much spot on with gay marriage approval for the November ballot measures.

[Brian Devine]

Virginia

[Johnnie Walker]

Ohio Governor. New Mexico Governor.

[Liberal Southern Transplant]

Senate Races: North Carolina, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky

Governor: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, South Carolina

[rich miller]

Illinois, of course.

[Charlie]

Illinois gov! How does Gov. Pat Quinn do in primary head-to-heads? Durbin is up, too.

[JK]

Illinois Governor. Lowest approval ratings of any Governor... in a highly democratic state.

[Q.]

Texas options:

Next cycle we have Governor and U.S. Senate.

Rick Perry has already announced he is running for reelection, but he'll likely face a primary challenge by David Dewhurst. You should test that primary.

Democrats are likely to put up Wendy Davis or Julian Castro, testing a primary between them would be smart.

Neither party has any other serious potential candidates. Ofcourse you'd do all four general election match-ups.

As for the Senate campaign, potential Democratic candidates include, but are not limited to, rep-elect Pete Gallego, Bill White (who was going to run for Senate in 2010 anticipating KBH's retirement), John Sharp, and Joaquin Castro. I expect that a more sacrificial lamb will be the nominee, but it is, ofcourse, worth testing the current non-Gubernatorially inclined Democratic talent against Cornyn (who may or may not run for reelection).

[Tom B.]

Illinois. Probably most vulnerable gov in the country in Quinn and huge R primary.

[T]

Illinois! There's s a python that needs some polling data...

[Justin]

Illinois: Same-Sex Marriage, Governor, Lt. Gov, Senate (especially if Durbin decides to retire), Quinn approvals, Simon approvals, Kirk approvals, Durbin approvals, Obama approvals, Secession, and 2016 Presidential Primaries (both Dem and GOP).

[Mongo]

Illinois. A state that is completely controlled by D's, a state where the R's got obliterated in Congressional races, but a State where the D Governor Quinn has very low approval ratings. The R's are in a frenzy...will the far right force a primary winner that is unelectable? Will the D's run someone to beat Quinn in the primary? Will a moderate R rise to the top, only to have the far right R contingent stay home and not vote in the general?

So much to know...so much to poll!

[Bill]

In the Illinois Dem primary Pat Quinn vs Anybody Else

[Pandora]

Illinois, the state is a mess. The Governor's race is already hotly debated, we have an unpopular governor and a fairly suicidal GOP, and Durbin is on the fence.

Lots of interesting stuff.

[S. Matthew]

Illinois

[G'Kar]

Illinois. Home of a dysfunctional governor and a dysfunctional Republican party.

[pbrower2a]

New Jersey -- what the response to Hurricane sandy does to both Obama and Christie.

Georgia -- gubernatorial, senatorial approval.

Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania -- gay rights.

[Bazinga !]

Someone rigged the poll for IL ...

NJ was clearly ahead the last time I checked.

[GH]

And here's another one for Kentucky:

"US Senator Rand Paul recently said that he was 'interested' in the possibility of running for the position of President of the United States. Would you support Senator Rand Paul if he was to run for president in 2016?"

[Rich]

Illinois. Quinn is vulnerable in the primary and general.

[Mike]

I would like NJ-Gov and VA-Gov.

For New Jersey I would poll an open bench with the most prominent Democrats in the state, including Codey and even Bill Bradley.

For Virginia, I wish to see Jim Webb.

[Reginald]

Illinois. Big State. The Presidents home state. Chicago is THE axis of which the political world turns in the USA for the next several years. Governor, Senator et al. all up. Illinois is a MUST poll !

[Ben]

Illinois governor race, especially the primaries

[LASOLE]

I would check the current match up between the Gubernatorial candidates in Virgina and see how they match vs Romney v Clinton in VIRGINIA.
Does the so called Democratic coalition hold up.
Women single
Ethnic ( Latino, African Am, Asian)
Youngers
Married Women
White Men
Did Obama set the table for McAuliffe?

[LASOLE]

I said Romney v Clinton....duh
I meant Romney v Obama

Sorry