Raleigh, N.C. –
PPP’s annual poll on the UNC/Duke rivalry finds that 73% of North Carolinians
think that Barack Obama should honor former UNC coach Dean Smith with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
That finding’s not too surprising in and of itself. In 2011 we found that
Smith was the second most admired person in the state, trailing only Billy
Graham. What might be more surprising though is some of the groups supporting
this honor for Smith. 72% of Duke fans think that Smith should receive it to
just 28% opposed. And even though Smith was a well known liberal, 76% of both
Democrats and Republicans think that he should receive it.
“Respect for Dean Smith transcends school colors and party lines,” said Dean
Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “If Barack Obama awarded him the
Presidential Medal of Freedom it would please North Carolinians across the
board.”
On to Wednesday’s game, Duke might be in the Top Ten and UNC might be on the
bubble, but the Tar Heels at least continue to have a big lead in the court of
public opinion. 47% of North Carolinians say they’ll be pulling for UNC, to
just 26% for Duke. This is actually the widest advantage we’ve found for UNC in
6 years of doing this poll. The previous largest was a 16 point lead in both
2008 and 2009. This is something North Carolinians across party lines can agree
on- Democrats go for Carolina by a 49/28 margin and Republicans do so by a
48/24 spread.
As long as we were polling on basketball we also looked at the issue of the
Charlotte Bobcats potentially changing their name back to the Hornets. Overall
North Carolinians are ambivalent- 45% have no opinion to 35% who support it and
20% that are opposed. But among the 28% of voters who actually consider
themselves to be Bobcats fans, there’s 61/19 support for the name change.
PPP surveyed 600
North Carolinian voters from February 7th to 10th. The margin of
error is +/-4%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political
organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Sports figures such as Arthur Ashe, Roberto
Clemente, Arnold Palmer, Richard Petty, and
Jackie Robinson have been rewarded with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. Would you
support or oppose that honor being bestowed
upon former UNC basketball coach Dean
Smith?
Support ……………… .73% Oppose ……………… .27%
Q2 Who will you be rooting for in the Duke-UNC
basketball game on Wednesday night?
Duke …………………. .26%
UNC………………….. .47%
Not sure …………….. .27%
Q3 Do you consider yourself to be a Charlotte
Bobcats fans, or not?
Consider yourself a
Bobcats fan………….28%
Do not ……………….. .72%
Q4 Would you support or oppose renaming the
Charlotte Bobcats the Charlotte Hornets?
Support ……………… .35%
Oppose ……………… .20%
Not sure …………….. .45%
Q5 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%
Q6 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 ……………………………………………….. 44%
Republican……………………………………………… 33%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 23%
Q7 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 75%
African-American …………………………………….. 20%
Other……………………………………………………… 6%
Q8 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………………………………………………….. 41%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 21%
Q9 Area Code
252………………………………………………………… 12%
336………………………………………………………… 18%
704………………………………………………………… 18%
828………………………………………………………… 14%
910………………………………………………………… 16%
919………………………………………………………… 21%
