Raleigh, N.C. – North Carolina is the rare state where the Tea Party is seen more positively than the much newer Occupy Wall Street movement. Asked to choose between the two, 43% of Tar Heels prefer the Tea Party, and 40% O.W.S. Independents say they are bigger fans of the Tea Party by a 45-38 margin, and Republicans (11-76) are more supportive of the Tea Party than Democrats of O.W.S. (63-18). At 50-33, voters under 30 are the only age group with a higher opinion of O.W.S. than the Tea Party. The left’s movement is preferred over the right’s in the Triangle area (919), but the Tea Party is favored in every other area code. Overall, 35% support O.W.S.’s goals, and 41% oppose them, compared to 40-47 for the Tea Party.
Of its four bordering states, North Carolinians have the fondest opinion of their northern neighbor, Virginia. 54% see the state favorably and only 14% unfavorably, compared to 48-14 for Tennessee, 47-17 for Georgia, and 43-24 for South Carolina. SC is the least liked state largely because the plurality Democrats are not too crazy about it (27-37), the only state with a net-negative rating among any of the partisan groups. 18-25% of Democrats also have unfavorable views of the other states, a far higher level of dissatisfaction than Republicans or independents have for any of the states. For whatever reason, more men are sure about their opinions of each of these states than women. African Americans slightly dislike both SC (28-36) and TN (23-29), and at 25-28 with young folks, SC is also the only state with a net-negative figure among any age bracket.
Voters continue to have mediocre opinions of both of their senators. 35% approve and 36% disapprove of senior Sen. Richard Burr’s job performance, as compared to 39-41 for freshman Sen. Kay Hagan. The two senators’ approval ratings fluctuate a lot month to month, but neither has been able to form solid opinions in voters’ minds one way or another.
PPP surveyed 615 North Carolina voters from October 27th to 31st. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.0%. 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 Senator
Richard Burr’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .35%
Disapprove…………. .36%
Not sure …………….. .29%
Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Kay
Hagan’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .39%
Disapprove…………. .41%
Not sure …………….. .20%
Q3 Do you support or oppose the goals of the
Occupy Wall Street movement?
Support ………………………………………………….. 35%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%
Q4 Do you support or oppose the goals of the Tea
Party movement?
Support ………………………………………………….. 40%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%
Q5 Do you have a higher opinion of the Occupy
Wall Street movement or the Tea Party
movement?
Occupy Wall Street ………………………………….. 40%
Tea Party ……………………………………………….. 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%
Q6 Do you consider yourself to be a Southerner or
not?
Consider yourself a Southerner …………………. 79%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 21%
Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the state of South Carolina?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 43%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 24%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 33%
Q8 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the state of Virginia?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 54%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 32%
Q9 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the state of Georgia?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 47%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 17%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 36%
Q10 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the state of Tennessee?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 48%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 39%
Q11 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 8%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 17%
Moderate………………………………………………… 31%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 27%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 17%
Q12 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%
Q13 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 ……………………………………………….. 46%
Republican……………………………………………… 35%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 19%
Q14 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 74%
African-American …………………………………….. 21%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%
Q15 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………………………………………………….. 20%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 48%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
Q16
252………………………………………………………… 11%
336………………………………………………………… 18%
704………………………………………………………… 16%
828………………………………………………………… 14%
910………………………………………………………… 17%
919………………………………………………………… 23%