Raleigh, N.C. – The debt deal has caused Ohioans to sour on John Boehner. When PPP polled the state in May, 37% both approved and disapproved of Boehner’s performance in office. Now, only 34% approve, and his disapproval is up to 47%. The main cause? A movement of 23 points in the wrong direction with independents, from 37-34 to 34-54. He has also declined with the two major parties. Now, more Republicans disapprove (16%) than Democrats approve (12%), the opposite of three months ago, when only 8% of Republicans disapproved and 14% of Democrats approved. Boehner’s native state does still see him more positively than they do Nancy Pelosi, however, with 49% viewing Boehner more favorably and 34% Pelosi. 14% see them equally well.
As bad as the economy has been in the Rust Belt, more Ohioans still blame George W. Bush for the state of the economy than President Obama. 51% say Bush has been more responsible for the recession, and 42% say Obama. Independents side 49-44 with Bush, and Democrats are just slightly more likely to blame Bush than Republicans blame Obama.
Ohio is generally not in favor of same-sex marriage. Only a third think it should be legal, and 53% say it should remain illegal. That is just slightly up from May (31-53), as Democrats have moved from 45-40 in favor to 50-33, and independents from 28-51 against to only 37-47. But when given the option of civil unions, 61% of Ohio voters favor equal legal rights for gay couples, including 73% of Democrats, 67% of independents, and even 44% of Republicans.
When recently confronted by hostile Iowa voters, Mitt Romney proclaimed that “corporations are people, my friends.” PPP asked whether Ohioans agreed. 36% do, but half do not. Democrats unsurprisingly are least likely to agree with Romney (26-60), but even Republicans only narrowly do (42-41), less than independents do (45-42).
PPP surveyed 792 Ohio voters from August 11th to 14th. 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 the job House
Speaker John Boehner is doing?
Approve …………….. .34%
Disapprove…………. .47%
Not sure …………….. .19%
Q2 Do you have a more favorable opinion of John
Boehner or Nancy Pelosi?
John Boehner …….. .49%
Nancy Pelosi………. .34%
Both equally ……….. .14%
Not sure …………….. . 4%
Q3 Do you think the debt deal passed in
Washington last week is a good thing or a bad
thing for our economy?
Good……………………………………………………… 27%
Bad ……………………………………………………….. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 28%
Q4 Who do you think is more responsible for the
debt deal being passed: President Obama and
Congressional Democrats, the Republicans in
Congress, or both equally?
President Obama and Congressional
Democrats ………………………………………………31%
Congressional Republicans ………………………. 23%
Both equally ……………………………………………. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 5%
Q5 Do you think the deal that was reached this
week will solve the deficit problem or not?
Will solve the problem………………………………. 5%
Will not …………………………………………………… 82%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%
Q6 Which president’s administration do you think
is more responsible for the recession:
President Bush’s administration or President
Obama’s?
Bush administration …………………………………. 51%
Obama administration………………………………. 42%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%
Q7 Do you think that spending cuts alone can
solve the deficit problem, or do you think there
needs to be a combination of spending cuts
and additional taxes to solve it?
Spending cuts alone can solve the deficit
problem…………………………………………………..37%
Needs to be a combination of spending cuts
and additional taxes………………………………….54%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%
Q8 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the Tea Party?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 37%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%
Q9 If there was an election for Congress today, do
you think you would vote for the Democratic or
Republican candidate from your district, or are
you not sure?
Democratic candidate ………………………………. 42%
Republican candidate ………………………………. 37%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%
Q10 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 33%
Illegal …………………………………………………….. 53%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%
Q11 Which of the following best describes your
opinion on gay marriage: gay couples should
be allowed to legally marry, or gay couples
should be allowed to form civil unions but not
legally marry, or there should be no legal
recognition of a gay couple’s relationship?
Gay couples should be allowed to legally
marry ……………………………………………………..28%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil
unions but not marry …………………………………33%
There should be no legal recognition of a gay
couple’s relationship …………………………………36%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%
Q12 Do you think that corporations are people or
not?
They are people………………………………………. 36%
They are not……………………………………………. 50%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%
Q13 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 46%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 49%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 5%
Q14 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 8%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 19%
Moderate………………………………………………… 31%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 17%
Q15 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 51%
Man……………………………………………………….. 49%
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 ……………………………………………….. 44%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 22%
Q17 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 84%
African-American …………………………………….. 12%
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………………………………………………….. 10%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 24%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 46%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
