Raleigh, N.C. – If it could get any lower, the Republican-controlled North Carolina state legislature’s approval rating has only fallen further since last month to 15%, with its disapproval roughly the same (up from 54% to 55%). All of that movement comes from Republicans (30-45 to 19-47) and independents (21-57 to 13-66). If the election were today, voters across the state would vote for Democratic legislative candidates by a 44-40 margin.
North Carolinians love their NFL franchise, but they also want a Major League Baseball club in the state, to complete its hosting of teams in each of the four major professional American sports leagues. Of the three already here, 51% like the Carolina Panthers the best, with 14% going for the Carolina Hurricanes and only 5% with the Charlotte Bobcats, who are the worst team in the NBA by three games.
The Cats are even less popular with black voters (10%) than the Canes (11%). They also manage only 6% of fans even in the Charlotte metro area, where the Panthers, who also call the 704 area code home, have a 65% share of the region. The Canes are most popular in their home turf, holding the Panthers to only a 34-32 edge in the Triangle. The Canes are also more popular with younger voters. 18% of those under the age of 45 like them best, but only 9% of those over 65 do.
45% of Tar Heels want an MLB team, while 29% do not. Though the sport has suffered in popularity with African-Americans and youth in recent years, black voters (55-13) are much more desirous of having pro baseball in the state than white voters (43-32), and young voters (56-26) also favor a club more than their elders, with desire waning from 48% to 43% to 40% across the age spectrum.
In college sports, 50% consider UNC the flagship public university, which it is, while 23% consider N.C. State to have that honor and only 7% East Carolina.
PPP surveyed 804 North Carolina voters from March 8th to 11th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.5%. 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.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Bev
Perdue’s job performance?
Approve…………….. 35%
Disapprove………… 53%
Not sure ……………. 13%
Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator
Richard Burr’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .34%
Disapprove…………. .37%
Not sure …………….. .29%
Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Kay
Hagan’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .40%
Disapprove…………. .39%
Not sure …………….. .21%
Q4 Do you approve or disapprove of the job the
General Assembly is doing?
Approve …………….. .15%
Disapprove…………. .55%
Not sure …………….. .31%
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the Democrats in the North Carolina
Legislature?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 31%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%
Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the Republicans in the North Carolina
Legislature?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 28%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 49%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%
Q7 If there was an election for the state legislature
today, would you vote Democratic or
Republican?
Democratic…………. .44%
Republican…………. .40%
Not sure …………….. .16%
Q8 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Rush Limbaugh?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 25%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 57%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%
Q9 Did you think the comments Rush Limbaugh
made about Sandra Fluke last week were
appropriate or inappropriate?
Appropriate …………………………………………….. 13%
Inappropriate…………………………………………… 69%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 18%
Q10 Do you think advertisers should pull their ads
from Limbaugh’s show, or not?
They should ……………………………………………. 43%
They should not ………………………………………. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%
Q11 What do you consider to be the flagship public
university in North Carolina: East Carolina,
North Carolina State, UNC-Chapel Hill, or
another school?
ECU………………………………………………………. 7%
NCSU ……………………………………………………. 23%
UNC………………………………………………………. 50%
Another school………………………………………… 11%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%
Q12 Is your favorite pro sports team in North
Carolina the Carolina Hurricanes, Carolina
Panthers, or Charlotte Bobcats?
Hurricanes ……………………………………………… 14%
Panthers ………………………………………………… 51%
Bobcats………………………………………………….. 5%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 30%
Q13 Do you wish that North Carolina had a Major
League Baseball team, or not?
Wish NC did……………………………………………. 45%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 29%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 26%
Q14 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 12%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 15%
Moderate………………………………………………… 29%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 25%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 20%
Q15 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%
Q16 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 ……………………………………………….. 45%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 21%
Q17 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 75%
African-American …………………………………….. 21%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%
Q18 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………………………………………………….. 30%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 38%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
Q19
252………………………………………………………… 9%
336………………………………………………………… 19%
704………………………………………………………… 22%
828………………………………………………………… 14%
910………………………………………………………… 15%
919………………………………………………………… 20%
