Raleigh, N.C. – Democrat Jim Hood is favored to win a third term as Mississippi’s Attorney General, leading Republican nominee-in-waiting Steve Simpson 49-32 in PPP’s first poll of the race. Hood has Democrats locked up pretty well, 74-12, and is pulling 27% of the GOP, with Simpson at only 51%. Hood also leads with independents, 43-34.
Senior Senator Thad Cochran is about as popular as his junior colleague Roger Wicker. 52% approve of his performance in office, and less than half that (25%) disapprove. Democrats actually give him a larger net approval margin (41-28) than do independents (46-37).
Former Senator Trent Lott is also very well liked. 54% see him favorably, and 26% unfavorably. Democrats feel less positively toward Lott than Cochran, but still like him by a 38-32 margin. Republicans make up for that; 74% of them have a favorable opinion of Lott, versus 67% for Cochran. Independents give him a 44-35 spread.
Lott and Cochran are able to do well with Democrats not just because white Democrats are so conservative in the state, but because black Democrats are not nearly as antagonistic toward them as might be expected. At the same time as they overwhelmingly vote for Democrats, Mississippi’s African Americans express at least tepid favorability toward Cochran and Lott, even after Lott’s comments about Strom Thurmond’s segregationist platform which led to his resignation from the Senate leadership. They support Hood 74-10 over Simpson, but while pluralities of 35% and 38% are not sure how they feel about each Cochran and Lott, blacks who do have an opinion side just barely on the positive side for both, 33-32 for Cochran and 32-30 for Lott.
There is also a huge difference across age groups. There is a stark linear correlation between age and support for Hood and Simpson. Hood leads with those over age 65 only 40-39, but 45-36 with the next youngest group, 51-28 with the next, and a huge 71-17 with those under 30. Yet 43-57% approve of Cochran’s performance regardless of age, and 42-60% see Lott in a favorable light.
PPP surveyed 817 Mississippi voters from March 24th to 27th. The survey’s margin of error is +/-3.4%. Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Thad
Cochran’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 52%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 25%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%
Q2 The candidates for Attorney General are
Democrat Jim Hood and Republican Steve
Simpson. If the election was today, who would
you vote for?
Jim Hood………………………………………………… 49%
Steve Simpson………………………………………… 32%
Undecided………………………………………………. 19%
Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Trent Lott?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 54%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 26%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 20%
Q4 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 54%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 40%
Someone Else/Don’t Remember………………… 7%
Q5 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 11%
Moderate………………………………………………… 28%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 26%
Q6 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 56%
Man……………………………………………………….. 44%
Q7 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 ……………………………………………….. 40%
Republican……………………………………………… 40%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 20%
Q8 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 63%
African-American …………………………………….. 33%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%
Q9 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………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 43%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 19%
