Public Policy Polling

Republican tax reform proposals unpopular

Raleigh, N.C.- PPP’s latest North Carolina poll reveals that the Republican government is receiving poor marks. Although Pat McCrory’s approval rating is 48% positive to 38% negative, 48% of North Carolinians disapprove of the Republican government to just 41% who approve. Republican legislators score even worse at 37% approval to 49% disapproval. The General Assembly overall gets a 25% positive rating to 51% negative and 24% unsure. At 38%-46%, Democrats have poor numbers, too. Voters believe by a 45% to 31% margin that the General Assembly is causing the state national embarrassment.

Specific Republican proposals are extremely unpopular. Voters oppose the House and Senate tax plans by 41%-11% and 44%-14%, respectively. When told the details of these plans, opposition soars to 68%-13% for the Senate’s plan and 55%-21% for the House’s. 81% of North Carolinians oppose raising the sales tax on groceries from 2% to 6.5%. Only 10% support it.

Tax reform proposals not sitting well with NC voters

PPP's monthly North Carolina poll finds that voters don't like the tax reform plans that have been presented by either the House or Senate over the last few weeks:

-Only 14% of voters support the Senate plan with 44% opposed and 42% having no opinion. When key provisions of it are described opposition rises all the way up to 68% with only 13% of voters supporting it. There is bipartisan opposition with 76% of Democrats, 69% of independents, and 56% of Republicans against it. The provision raising the sales tax on groceries is particularly unpopular with only 10% supportive of it and 81% opposed.

-Just 11% of voters support the House plan with 41% opposed and 48% having no opinion. When its key provisions are described it at least fares better than the Senate plan with support for it rising to 21%, although opposition to it climbs to 55% as well. Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike oppose the House plan as they do the Senate plan.

Tax reform isn't the only unpopular thing going on at the General Assembly right now:

-Voters are strongly opposed to the gun bill that recently passed the House. 73% of voters are opposed to concealed weapons in bars, 69% are opposed to them on college campuses, and 65% are opposed to them in parks. Even Republican voters are opposed to guns in bars (25/54), campuses (40/50), and parks (42/46). This is an example of the GOP majority in the legislature going to the right even of the party base.

-Only 15% of voters in the state support repealing environmental protections at Jordan Lake to 49% who are opposed to that course of action. Again we see bipartisan agreement with Democrats (10/54), Republicans (17/41), and independents (21/49) all opposed to eliminating those rules.

The sum total of all this is that the legislature continues to be extremely unpopular. Only 25% of voters approve of the job it's doing to 51% who disapprove. Voters aren't happy with either party but the Republicans (37/49 favorability) are worse off than the Democrats (38/46) and perhaps as a result Democrats lead the generic legislative ballot by a 46/42 margin. 45% of voters even go so far as to say the General Assembly is causing North Carolina national embarrassment to just 31% of voters who disagree with that sentiment.

Other notes from North Carolina:

Republican-sponsored bills draw public opposition in NC

Raleigh, N.C. – Pat McCrory continues to be popular despite strong disapproval of the Republicans running state government, according to PPP’s latest North Carolina poll.

With 49% approving and 36% disapproving of his job performance, voters still have a positive view of McCrory—in large part because 31% of registered Democrats approve of him. Public opinion of Republicans as a whole running state government is roughly reversed with just 38% approving and 52% disapproving. Just 20% of voters approve of the job the General Assembly is doing in Raleigh, while 56% are opposed. Democrats lead the general state legislative ballot 45% to 41% against Republicans.

Voters don’t support any of the GOP-sponsored bills that PPP tested. They narrowly oppose making Christianity the official state religion with 45% against the bill and 42% in favor, including 53% of Republicans, 41% of Democrats and 30% of independents.

NC voters oppose many GOP proposals

A pretty consistent picture is emerging in PPP's monthly look at how North Carolinians feel about state government: Pat McCrory's popularity is holding up well but the legislature and many of its high profile proposals continue to be extremely unpopular.

McCrory's approval rating is a +13 spread this month with 49% of voters approving and 36% disapproving of his performance. His numbers have been very consistent over the last 3 months- +14 in February, +14 in March, and now +13. Compared to his predecessor that's good news for McCrory- from February to April of her first year in office Bev Perdue went from +11 to +1 before dropping into negative territory in May and never recovering.

The Republicans as a whole are getting poor marks for their leadership over state government though- 38% of voters approve of the job they're doing to 52% who disapprove. That's largely a function of the legislature. Republicans legislators have a 34/53 favorability rating, and the General Assembly as a whole has just a 20% approval with 56% of voters disapproving of it.

A whole bevy of bills introduced by Republican legislators recently are proving to be quite unpopular:

North Carolina voters disapprove of Republican legislators

Raleigh, N.C. – North Carolina voters disapprove of the way Republicans are running state government in general and of several of their specific policy proposals. Just 38% of voters say they approve of the job Republicans as a whole are running state government, while 52% disapprove. The General Assembly as a whole fares particularly badly, with just 23% job approval and 49% disapproval. 50% say they have an unfavorable opinion of Republicans in the North Carolina Legislature compared to 36% who hold a favorable opinion. Democrats in the Legislature fare only slightly better, with a 38%-44% favorability rating. Only Governor Pat McCrory himself sees a net positive job approval rating, with 49% approving and 35% disapproving.

The policies North Carolina Republicans are pushing just aren’t viewed very favorably by voters: just 36% support a proposed law banning the baring of women’s breasts compared to 41% who oppose it; 30% support the Legislature eliminating the earned income tax credit while 42% oppose it; and only 26% support the Legislature blocking the expansion of Medicaid health care coverage to roughly 500,000 North Carolinians while 56% oppose. And fully 68% of voters say they should have the option to vote straight-party ticket if they choose to, while 21% say they should not. As such it may not come as much of a surprise that Democrats lead Republicans in the general ballot for State Legislature: 47% say they’d vote for a Democrat and 41% say a Republican in the next election.

North Carolina Miscellany

As a whole North Carolinians are unhappy with their Republican run state government. 38% of voters approve of the job it's doing to 52% who disapprove, including a 34/51 spread with independents.

Voter anger is being directed a lot more at the legislature than Governor Pat McCrory. McCrory's approval is steady at a +14 spread compared to a month ago, with 49% of voters approving of him to 35% who disapprove. Given that Bev Perdue's polls numbers slipped every single month from January to July of her term in office, stability is not a bad thing for McCrory. He's at 47/32 with independents.

The Republicans in the legislature though have just a 36% favorability rating with 50% of voters giving them poor marks. The Democrats aren't popular either at a 38/44 spread, but they're at least doing a good deal better than their GOP counterparts. Democrats currently lead the generic legislative ballot 47/41.

What's driving the Republicans' unpopularity? Much of the agenda they're pursuing is unpopular with the public at large:

-56% of voters disagree with the decision to block Medicaid expansion, compared to only 26% of voters who support it. Even rank and file Republicans are pretty divided on the decision (39/36 support) and there's majority opposition from Democrats (16/70) and independents (27/56).

-Voters are also opposed, by a 42/30 margin, to the elimination of the earned income tax credit. This is another issue where even GOP voters are pretty tepid on the action taken by their elected officials (38/34 support) and Democrats (26/46) and independents (28/45) are both pretty opposed.

-The action we see the strongest opposition to that Republican lawmakers are trying to take is the elimination of straight party ticket voting. Only 21% of voters support eliminating that option, compared to 68% who think it should continue to exist. Both Democrats (70/17) and Republicans (68/22) strongly support the continuation of straight party ticket voting.

-And finally voters oppose the proposed 'nipple bill' 41/36. Women are evenly divided on it at 38%, but men firmly oppose it 45/34.

Other notes from North Carolina:

McCrory disapproval worsens

Raleigh, N.C. – North Carolinians are unhappy with many of the actions the Republican controlled state government has taken over the last month, and its poll numbers are suffering for it.

Only 11% of voters support the pay raises Pat McCrory gave to his cabinet, to 82% of voters opposed to them. Even Republicans oppose them by a 75/14 margin. Only 39% of voters support cutting benefits for unemployed workers to $350 a week, while 50% are opposed to that change. And just 41% favor reducing the time period during which workers can receive benefits by six weeks to 48% who are opposed. Independents are opposed to the actions the legislature has taken on both counts. 32% of voters disagree with the comments McCrory recently made about higher education in the state to 26% who agree. In the Triangle, where voters were much more familiar with his statements, 44% of voters disagree with McCrory to 30% who agree.

As a result of all this McCrory's honeymoon is wearing off a little bit. His approval has dropped from a +26 spread at 45/19 to a +14 one at 47/33. Democrats were initially willing to give him a chance- in January his approval with them broke even at 26%. But after his first month in office his disapproval with them has nearly doubled to 51%.

NC State Politics Poll

North Carolinians are unhappy with many of the actions the Republican controlled state government has taken over the last month, and its poll numbers are suffering for it. Here's the rundown:

-Only 11% of voters support the pay raises Pat McCrory gave to his cabinet, to 82% of voters opposed to them. Even Republicans oppose them by a 75/14 margin.

-Only 39% of voters support cutting benefits for unemployed workers to $350 a week, while 50% are opposed to that change. And just 41% favor reducing the time period during which workers can receive benefits by six weeks to 48% who are opposed. Independents are opposed to the actions the legislature has taken on both counts.

-32% of voters disagree with the comments McCrory recently made about higher education in the state to 26% who agree. In the Triangle, where voters were much more familiar with his statements, 44% of voters disagree with McCrory to 30% who agree.

As a result of all this McCrory's honeymoon is wearing off a little bit. His approval has dropped from a +26 spread at 45/19 to a +14 one at 47/33. Democrats were initially willing to give him a chance- in January his approval with them broke even at 26%. But after his first month in office his disapproval with them has nearly doubled to 51%.

While McCrory remains decently popular, voters give the Republican controlled state government as a whole a 40% approval rating, with 49% of voters disapproving. It's at 35/49 with independents. The overall poor numbers for state government are probably due to the unpopularity of legislative Republicans- only 33% of voters have a favorable opinion of them to 49% with a negative one. Democrats lead the generic legislative ballot at 45/44.

Other notes from North Carolina:

McCrory starts term in decent shape

Raleigh, N.C. – PPP's first Pat McCrory approval poll finds 45% of voters giving him good marks to just 19% who disapprove. His approval number is almost identical to the 43% we found for Bev Perdue the first time we polled on her in 2009, but the disapproval is a good deal lower than the 32% of voters who started out with unhappy. A big part of that is due to Democrats splitting evenly on McCrory, 26% approving and 26% disapproving. That suggests they're at least giving him a chance.

The next six months will be critical for McCrory. After starting out in a similar place, Perdue was down to a 25% approval rating by July and was never able to recover over the next four years. The success or failure of McCrory's administration may be determined in these early days.

Reflecting the fact that most voters don't pay close attention state government 31% approve of McCrory's cabinet selections, 24% disapprove, and 45% don't have an opinion either way. His two most controversial appointees Tony Tata (14/19) and Art Pope (12/19) both have negative favorability ratings but that may be more a reflection of them being unknown than anything else. In the Triangle where they do have decently high name recognition Tata (36/23) is seen positively, while Pope (21/28) is not.

McCrory starts out at 45%

-PPP's first Pat McCrory approval poll finds 45% of voters giving him good marks to just 19% who disapprove. His approval number is almost identical to the 43% we found for Bev Perdue the first time we polled on her in 2009, but the disapproval is a good deal lower than the 32% of voters who started out with unhappy. A big part of that is due to Democrats splitting evenly on McCrory, 26% approving and 26% disapproving. That suggests they're at least giving him a chance.

The next six months will be critical for McCrory. After starting out in a similar place, Perdue was down to a 25% approval rating by July and was never able to recover over the next four years. The success or failure of McCrory's administration may be determined in these early days.

-Reflecting the fact that most voters don't pay close attention state government 31% approve of McCrory's cabinet selections, 24% disapprove, and 45% don't have an opinion either way. His two most controversial appointees Tony Tata (14/19) and Art Pope (12/19) both have negative favorability ratings but that may be more a reflection of them being unknown than anything else. In the Triangle where they do have decently high name recognition Tata (36/23) is seen positively, while Pope (21/28) is not.

-Barack Obama's starting out his second term with a 46% approval rating in North Carolina. He was at 52% on his first approval poll in 2009 and the 46% figure reflects voters having their minds already made up and not really being willing to give him a chance to the same extent they did the last time around.