Raleigh, N.C. – Seattle claimed the title of most popular city in the country in April, but it cannot claim the title of most popular city in Washington. Spokane comes in as the most popular of the state’s cities, with 56% seeing it favorably and only 14% unfavorably. Seattle has a higher raw favorability (58%), but 26% see it negatively. In terms of net favorability, Vancouver also tops Seattle (49-10). The capital, Olympia, is not far behind (48-20).
Seattle topped the list of most popular cities in the U.S. with a 57-14 favorability spread nationwide. Dragging down Seattle’s favorability rating in its home state is an enormous partisan division among voters. The state’s largest city has a +74 net favorability rating (82-8) with Democrats and a -3 net favorability rating (38-41) with Republicans. Independents favor the city, 48-35.
Spokane is the most popular city with Republicans at 69% favorability among GOP voters. But unlike Seattle, Spokane is viewed positively by all voters. 52% of Democrats and 50% of independents also view the city favorably.
Microsoft, whose headquarters is located in the state, is overwhelmingly popular, at 72% favorability. Microsoft employs 40,000 people in Washington. Washingtonians’ pro-Microsoft sentiments also extend to PCs, which are more popular than Macs (44-22). Upholding stereotypes, Democrats like Macs more than Republicans—25% of state Democrats favor Macs over PCs, while just 17% of Republicans feel the same way. Just 6% of young voters (aged 18 to 29) favor Macs over PCs.
Starbucks, which is also headquartered in the state, is significantly less popular than Microsoft, at 46% favorability. Starbucks is very popular with liberals and not very popular with conservatives—61% of very liberal voters have a favorable opinion of the company to just 38% of very conservative voters. The company has a +39 net favorability rating with Democrats and just a +14 net favorability rating with Republicans.
PPP surveyed 1,073 Washington voters from June 14th to June 17th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.0%. 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 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the city of Seattle?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 58%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 26%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%
Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the city of Spokane?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 56%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 30%
Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the city of Tacoma?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 33%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 40%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 28%
Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the city of Vancouver?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 49%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 10%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 41%
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the city of Olympia?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 48%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 32%
Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Starbucks?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 46%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 25%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 29%
Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Microsoft?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 72%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%
Q8 Do you have a higher opinion of Macs or PCs?
Macs ……………………………………………………… 22%
PCs……………………………………………………….. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 33%
Q9 Do you consider yourself a hipster, or not?
Consider yourself a hipster ……………………….. 7%
Do not ……………………………………………………. 76%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%
Q10 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 38%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 55%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 7%
Q11 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 12%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 24%
Moderate………………………………………………… 28%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 23%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 12%
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 ……………………………………………….. 36%
Republican……………………………………………… 28%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 36%
Q14 If you are white, press 1. If other, press 2.
White …………………………………………………….. 86%
Other……………………………………………………… 14%
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………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 43%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 19%