-Kentucky voters continue to have a much bigger problem with the Affordable Care Act than Kynect, even though they are functionally the same thing. 33% of voters in the state approve of the Affordable Care Act, and 33% likewise approve of Kynect. But 47% say they disapprove of the Affordable Care Act, compared to only 29% who say they disapprove of Kynect. This disconnect comes almost entirely among people who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012- 76% of them oppose the Affordable Care Act to only 47% who oppose Kynect.
-There is strong support in Kentucky for increasing the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 per hour- 58% support that compared to only 32% who are opposed. There is strong support for the increase among both Democrats (75/16) and independents (55/36), and even among Republicans 37% are in favor of it to 51% who are against it.
-56% of Kentucky voters support the general concept of putting a woman on one of the US dollar bills, compared to 29% opposed to the idea. There’s partisan division on the issue though. While Democrats (67/21) and independents (60/19) are both strongly in favor of it, Republicans (40/44) are opposed. While Kentuckians generally like the idea of putting a woman on paper money, there’s no consensus about who that should be. 19% say Eleanor Roosevelt to 15% for Susan B. Anthony, 13% for Helen Keller, 11% each for Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman, 7% for Clara Barton and Sacagawea, and 2% for Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
-It seems safe to say Kentucky voters weren’t all that tuned in to the Republican primary for Governor. Barely a month after the election also rans James Comer and Hal Heiner both have well under 50% name recognition. Despite the abuse allegations against him Comer (+5 at 21/16) actually emerged from the contest in much better shape with the public than Heiner (-9 at 17/26).
-Kentucky continues to dominate Louisville in fan loyalty- at least in terms of fan base size this is one of the most lopsided rivalries in the country. 66% say they are Wildcat fans to only 19% for the Cardinals. Kentucky fans are very happy with the job John Calipari is doing (83/5 approval) and mostly happy with the job Mark Stoops is doing (50/8 approval although many fans don’t have an opinion yet.) The basketball/football approval divide comes out pretty similarly for Louisville. Rick Pitino is overwhelmingly popular with an 82/4 approval rating, while Bobby Petrino comes in at 51/9 with the jury still out among many fans.
-Kentucky is clearly Reds country when it comes to baseball loyalties. 31% stand with Cincinnati to 10% for the Cubs, 8% for the Cardinals, 6% for the Braves, and 5% for the Yankees. We found a couple weeks ago that Reds fans in Ohio were pretty tepid on the job Bryan Price is doing as manager, and it’s the same story in Kentucky- just 26% approve of the job Price is doing to 23% who disapprove.
-Kentucky is considerably more evenly divided when it comes to NFL loyalties- 16% are Bengals fans to 13% for the Cowboys and Packers, 6% for the Steelers and Broncos, and 5% for the Bears and Titans. Marvin Lewis has a 53/12 approval rating with Bengals fans, suggesting the fans who want him to go are a loud minority within the franchise’s fan base.
-In the history of PPP we have asked thousands of horse race questions. But we have never asked a horse race question about race horses. So on our latest Kentucky poll we decided to change that. We tested on the favorability of American Pharoah (67/4) and Secretariat (78/2) and found that both horses are exceedingly popular. But in a race between the two there’s no doubt in the minds of Kentuckians- they think Secretariat would win by a 56/20 spread.
-It’s not good news for KFC when they can’t even win the chicken wars in Kentucky. 35% of voters in the state say Chick Fil A is their fast food chain of choice to 33% for KFC, with Popeye’s at 9%, Zaxby’s at 4%, and Church’s Chicken at 2% rounding out the list. Chick Fil A wins mostly due to their built in affection from conservatives- GOP voters pick it over KFC 50/27 while Democrats and independents both go for KFC.
In spite of KFC’s weak poll numbers Colonel Sanders remains a beloved figure, with 71% of voters seeing him favorably to only 8% with an unfavorable view. In fact they even think Colonel Sanders could be part of the solution to the problems in Washington- by a 47/27 spread voters in the state say they think Colonel Sanders would make for a better US Senator than Mitch McConnell. Too bad he’s dead.
-Finally we polled on two other cultural icons of Kentucky. Everyone likes bluegrass- 75% of voters rate it favorably to only 6% with a negative opinion. But they’re a lot more closely divided when it comes to mint juleps, 33% having a positive opinion of them to 29% who see them unfavorably. There’s a bit of a partisan split on the juleps with Democrats having a positive opinion of them at 35/29 but Republicans a negative one at 28/32.
Full results here
