Raleigh, N.C. – Linda Lingle would be wise not to embrace the Tea Party in her bid to represent Hawaii in the Senate. The movement has become unpopular even in red-leaning states, but it is massively disliked in deep-blue Hawaii. Lingle’s relative popularity comes from warm feelings from many of the nearly half of voters who are Democrats; they would be turned off by an appeal to the right wing. Only 28% of Hawaiians support the goals of the Tea Party, and 51% oppose them. Voters are more split on the relatively new Occupy Wall Street movement happening mostly on the opposite side of the mainland. 38% support its goals, and 35% oppose them. Asked of which movement they have a higher opinion, 44% choose O.W.S., and only 29% choose the Tea Party.
Almost three-quarters of Hawaii opposes the idea of seceding from the union and becoming its own country again, and only 14% supports that. But the sentiment is much closer among the 18% who are Native Hawaiians (38-45).
Without any major professional sports teams on the islands, a plurality of Hawaiians do not have favorites in baseball (25%) or football (28%), or they like someone other than the nine teams mentioned in PPP’s poll for each sport. In MLB, the New York Yankees surprisingly have the highest fan base, claiming 16% of fans, followed by the Los Angeles Angels at 14%, and then the Philadelphia Phillies at 13%; their center fielder, Shane Victorino, is a native Hawaiian. 10% follow the San Francisco Giants, and 7% the Los Angeles Dodgers, with four other teams in low single digits. In the NFL, Hawaiians also go with a mix of national trends and “nearby” teams. 17% root for the Green Bay Packers, 14% the San Francisco 49ers, 13% the Dallas Cowboys, and 8% the Oakland Raiders, with five other teams in single digits.
In college sports, 42% of Hawaiians are glad that the University of Hawaii is moving to the Mountain West Conference, and only 20% wish they had stayed in the WAC.
PPP surveyed 568 Hawaii voters from October 13th to 16th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.1%. 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 support or oppose the goals of the
Occupy Wall Street movement?
Support ………………………………………………….. 38%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 35%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 28%
Q2 Do you support or oppose the goals of the Tea
Party movement?
Support ………………………………………………….. 28%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 51%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%
Q3 Do you have a higher opinion of the Occupy
Wall Street movement or the Tea Party
movement?
Occupy Wall Street ………………………………….. 44%
Tea Party ……………………………………………….. 29%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 26%
Q4 Would you support or oppose Hawaii seceding
from the United States and becoming its own
country?
Support ………………………………………………….. 14%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 74%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%
Q5 What is your favorite Major League Baseball
team: the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los
Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, New
York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego
Padres, San Francisco Giants, or Seattle
Mariners?
Braves …………………………………………………… 5%
Cubs ……………………………………………………… 5%
Angels……………………………………………………. 14%
Dodgers …………………………………………………. 7%
Yankees …………………………………………………. 16%
Phillies …………………………………………………… 13%
Padres …………………………………………………… 1%
Giants ……………………………………………………. 10%
Mariners…………………………………………………. 4%
Another team/Not a baseball fan ……………….. 25%
Q6 What is your favorite NFL team: the Dallas
Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Green Bay
Packers, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders,
Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, San
Francisco 49ers, or Seattle Seahawks?
Cowboys………………………………………………… 13%
Broncos………………………………………………….. 5%
Packers………………………………………………….. 17%
Giants ……………………………………………………. 3%
Raiders ………………………………………………….. 8%
Steelers………………………………………………….. 6%
Chargers………………………………………………… 3%
49ers……………………………………………………… 14%
Seahawks ………………………………………………. 2%
Another team/Not a football fan …………………. 28%
Q7 Are you glad that the Hawaii football team is
moving to the Mountain West Conference, or
do you wish it had remained in the WAC?
Glad it’s moving to the Mountain West………… 42%
Wish it was remaining in the WAC……………… 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 38%
Q8 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 14%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 22%
Moderate………………………………………………… 31%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 22%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 10%
Q9 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 56%
Man……………………………………………………….. 44%
Q10 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 ……………………………………………….. 49%
Republican……………………………………………… 24%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 27%
Q11 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If native
Hawaiian, press 2. If Asian, press 3. If white,
press 4. If other, press 5.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 8%
Native Hawaiian………………………………………. 18%
Asian……………………………………………………… 30%
White …………………………………………………….. 37%
Other……………………………………………………… 8%
Q12 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………………………………………………….. 10%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 20%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 49%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 21%