Raleigh, N.C. – The voters of Colorado and North Carolina are in near unanimity on the debt deal and the economy. Only a quarter of both state’s voters think the deal struck between President Obama and Congress last week is a good thing for the economy, while 46% of North Carolinians and 55% of Coloradans think it will be bad.
There is some disagreement, however, on who is responsible for the deal getting done. Coloradans side with President Obama and Congressional Democrats, 30-28 over the Republicans, while Tar Heels side with the GOP, 32-24.
Neither state thinks this deal will do anything to deal with the deficit, however. Only 3% of Coloradans and 4% of North Carolinians do, while 85% of Coloradans and 80% of North Carolinians think it will not. When it comes to the way to solve that problem, 59% of Coloradans and 53% of North Carolinians believe tax hikes are required along with spending cuts, and less than a third in each state think cuts alone will suffice.
When told that it could create a larger short-term deficit but prevent another recession, voters still do not favor another round of economic stimulus. 32% of Coloradans and 30% of North Carolinians do, but 56% of Coloradans and 53% of North Carolinians do not favor more stimulus.
In all the bad news for Obama on the economy, voters do still blame his predecessor more for the bad times, and they credit the president with the turnaround in job creation. By a 54-39 margin in Colorado and 50-42 in North Carolina, voters point the finger at Bush over Obama.
“The debt deal isn’t proving to be popular with anyone,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Voters don’t really think it’s going to solve the problem and think additional taxes are going to be necessary to take care of the deficit long term.”
PPP surveyed 783 North Carolina voters, with a +/- 3.5% margin of error, and 510 Colorado voters, with a +/- 4.3% margin of error, from August 4th to 7th. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Colorado Toplines
Q1 Do you think the debt deal passed in
Washington this week is a good thing or a bad
thing for our economy?
Good……………………………………………………… 25%
Bad ……………………………………………………….. 55%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%
Q2 Who do you think is more responsible for the
debt deal being passed: President Obama and
Congressional Democrats, the Republicans in
Congress, or both equally?
President Obama and Congressional
Democrats ………………………………………………30%
Congressional Republicans ………………………. 28%
Both equally ……………………………………………. 37%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 5%
Q3 Do you think the deal that was reached this
week will solve the deficit problem or not?
Will solve the problem………………………………. 3%
Will not …………………………………………………… 85%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%
Q4 Some argue that we need another economic
stimulus package to create jobs. This could
prevent another recession in the long term but
also may create a bigger deficit in the short
term. Based on this information, would you
support or oppose another economic stimulus?
Support ………………………………………………….. 32%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 56%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%
Q5 Which president’s administration do you think
is more responsible for the recession:
President Bush’s administration or President
Obama’s?
Bush administration …………………………………. 54%
Obama administration………………………………. 39%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 7%
Q6 At the end of the Bush administration and the
beginning of the Obama administration, the
economy was losing an average of 700,000
jobs a month. Now, the economy is adding
jobs. Who do you think deserves more credit
for the turnaround: President Obama or the
Republicans?
President Obama…………………………………….. 50%
The Republicans……………………………………… 33%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%
Q7 Do you think that spending cuts alone can
solve the deficit problem, or do you think there
needs to be a combination of spending cuts
and additional taxes to solve it?
Spending cuts alone can solve the deficit
problem…………………………………………………..31%
Needs to be a combination of spending cuts
and additional taxes………………………………….59%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%
Q8 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 41%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 50%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 8%
Q9 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 13%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 22%
Moderate………………………………………………… 27%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 23%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 16%
Q10 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 51%
Man……………………………………………………….. 49%
Q11 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 ……………………………………………….. 41%
Republican……………………………………………… 33%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 26%
Q12 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If other, press 3.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 14%
White …………………………………………………….. 80%
Other……………………………………………………… 6%
Q13 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………………………………………………….. 25%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 43%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 21%
North Carolina Toplines
Q1 Do you think the debt deal passed in
Washington this week is a good thing or a bad
thing for our economy?
Good……………………………………………………… 25%
Bad ……………………………………………………….. 46%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 29%
Q2 Who do you think is more responsible for the
debt deal being passed: President Obama and
Congressional Democrats, the Republicans in
Congress, or both equally?
President Obama and Congressional
Democrats ………………………………………………24%
Congressional Republicans ………………………. 32%
Both equally ……………………………………………. 39%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 5%
Q3 Do you think the deal that was reached this
week will solve the deficit problem or not?
Will solve the problem………………………………. 4%
Will not …………………………………………………… 80%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%
Q4 Some argue that we need another economic
stimulus package to create jobs. This could
prevent another recession in the long term but
also may create a bigger deficit in the short
term. Based on this information, would you
support or oppose another economic stimulus?
Support ………………………………………………….. 30%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 53%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%
Q5 Which president’s administration do you think
is more responsible for the recession:
President Bush’s administration or President
Obama’s?
Bush administration …………………………………. 50%
Obama administration………………………………. 42%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%
Q6 At the end of the Bush administration and the
beginning of the Obama administration, the
economy was losing an average of 700,000
jobs a month. Now, the economy is adding
jobs. Who do you think deserves more credit
for the turnaround: President Obama or the
Republicans?
President Obama…………………………………….. 49%
The Republicans……………………………………… 33%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 18%
Q7 Do you think that spending cuts alone can
solve the deficit problem, or do you think there
needs to be a combination of spending cuts
and additional taxes to solve it?
Spending cuts alone can solve the deficit
problem…………………………………………………..32%
Needs to be a combination of spending cuts
and additional taxes………………………………….53%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%
Q8 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 7%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 16%
Moderate………………………………………………… 28%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 30%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 19%
Q9 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%
Q10 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 ……………………………………………….. 48%
Republican……………………………………………… 35%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 18%
Q11 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 74%
African-American …………………………………….. 22%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%
Q12 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………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 42%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 22%
Q13
252………………………………………………………… 11%
336………………………………………………………… 17%
704………………………………………………………… 21%
828………………………………………………………… 14%
910………………………………………………………… 13%
919………………………………………………………… 24%
