Polls

Majority of Mississippi voters support Medicaid expansion

| Tom Jensen

Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. —
In the latest PPP poll Mississippi voters showed their support for the federally funded expansion of Medicaid with 51% of voters supporting it while only 32% of voters thought the state should not accept the expanded federal funding.

However, Republican Governor Phil Bryant who opposes Medicaid expansion still enjoys statewide support with 41% of voters approving of his job performance while 31% of voters disapprove. Bryant continues to enjoy a large amount of support from members of his own party, as 60% of Republicans approve of his job performance

The poll also found that in potential matchups for Governor Bryant would be favored to win reelection against two possible Democratic foes, Jim Hood and Brandon Presley. Additionally, Senator Roger Wicker has a 39% approval rating compared to only 26% disapproval.

“Phil Bryant’s not a huge popular Governor but his approval numbers are solid enough,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “When you’re a Republican Governor in a Republican state with positive approval numbers you’re generally going to be a pretty strong favorite for reelection.”

The poll also found that 56% of voters in the state support raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour. This measure is particularly popular among the state’s women, of whom 64% support raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour.

While people never think of Mississippi as a swing state, if Hilary Clinton were to run for President in 2016 that may change. When polled against five potential Republican opponents; Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and Rand Paul, Clinton never has less than 42% support and is in fact tied with Cruz 44/44. For the Republicans, Huckabee has the most support in the state, beating Clinton 49/42 in a potential matchup. That number is both the largest margin a Republican leads by and the largest percentage of support that any of the five candidates received.

PPP surveyed 691 Mississippi voters and 434 usual Republican primary voters from July 10th to 13th. The margin of error for the overall sample is +/-3.7% and the Republicans it’s +/-4.7%. 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.

General Election Toplines

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Phil
Bryant’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 41%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 31%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 28%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jim Hood?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 41%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 38%

Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Brandon Presley?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 20%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 67%

Q4 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Republican Phil Bryant and Democrat Jim
Hood, who would you vote for?
Phil Bryant ……………………………………………… 44%
Jim Hood………………………………………………… 33%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 23%

Q5 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Republican Phil Bryant and Democrat Brandon
Presley, who would you vote for?
Phil Bryant ……………………………………………… 49%
Brandon Presley ……………………………………… 26%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%

Q6 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator
Roger Wicker’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 39%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 26%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 35%

Q7 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Jeb
Bush, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 42%
Jeb Bush………………………………………………… 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%

Q8 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Chris
Christie, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 42%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%

Q9 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Ted
Cruz, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 44%
Ted Cruz ………………………………………………… 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q10 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mike
Huckabee, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 42%
Mike Huckabee ……………………………………….. 49%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%

Q11 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rand
Paul, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 43%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q12 Would you support or oppose raising the
minimum wage to $10 an hour?
Support ………………………………………………….. 56%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 35%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%

Q13 Mississippi is eligible to receive new federal
funding to pay for health care through the
Medicaid program. Do you think the Mississippi
state government should accept this federal
funding to expand Medicaid coverage, or not?
Think it should…………………………………………. 51%
Think it should not……………………………………. 32%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q14 Is your favorite college sports team in the state
Mississippi, Mississippi State, or Southern
Mississippi?
Ole Miss…………………………………………………. 25%
Mississippi State ……………………………………… 34%
Southern Miss…………………………………………. 16%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 24%

Q15 (Asked only of Ole Miss fans:) Do you approve
or disapprove of Coach Hugh Freeze’s job
performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 59%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 7%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 34%

Q16 (Asked only of Miss. St. fans:) Do you approve
or disapprove of Coach Dan Mullen’s job
performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 60%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 9%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 31%

Q17 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Brett Favre?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 50%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 18%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 32%

Q18 Is your favorite Major League Baseball team
the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago
Cubs, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, St.
Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas
Rangers, or another team?
Braves …………………………………………………… 32%
Red Sox…………………………………………………. 7%
Cubs ……………………………………………………… 4%
Astros ……………………………………………………. 1%
Yankees …………………………………………………. 12%
Cardinals………………………………………………… 7%
Rays ……………………………………………………… 1%
Rangers …………………………………………………. 2%
Some other team / Don’t have a favorite……… 34%

Q19 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 42%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 50%
Someone else / Don’t remember ……………….. 8%

Q20 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 10%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 14%
Moderate………………………………………………… 26%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 25%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 26%

Q21 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%

Q22 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……………………………………………… 43%
Independent / Other…………………………………. 19%

Q23 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 60%
African-American …………………………………….. 34%
Other……………………………………………………… 6%

Q24 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………………………………………………….. 20%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 45%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 23%

Q25 Mode
Phone ……………………………………………………. 80%
Internet ………………………………………………….. 20%

Republican Primary Toplines

Q1 Given the choices of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie,
Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Marco
Rubio, Paul Ryan, Rick Santorum, and Scott
Walker, who would you most like to see as the
GOP candidate for President in 2016?
Jeb Bush………………………………………………… 16%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 8%
Ted Cruz ………………………………………………… 11%
Mike Huckabee ……………………………………….. 25%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 6%
Marco Rubio …………………………………………… 5%
Paul Ryan ………………………………………………. 6%
Rick Santorum………………………………………… 3%
Scott Walker …………………………………………… 2%
Someone else / Not sure ………………………….. 16%

Q2 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 0%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 3%
Moderate………………………………………………… 17%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 35%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 44%

Q3 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 49%
Man……………………………………………………….. 51%

Q4 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………………………………………………….. 24%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 30%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 36%

Related Polls