Raleigh, N.C. – When PPP last polled Virginia in July, before Congress cut a deal with President Obama to raise the debt ceiling, key House negotiator Eric Cantor was already somewhat unpopular in his home state. 29% saw him favorably and 31% unfavorably. In the five-month aftermath of that deal, as Congress has gotten less popular, so has one of its most vocal and visible leaders, even on his home turf. Now, only 21% see one of their representatives positively, and 38% negatively, a decline of 15 points on the margin. Almost all of that decline has come within Cantor’s own party. Democrats remain equally against him as before (5-54), and independents have moved only a hair (from 23-31 to 25-37), but Republicans now side with him by only a 35-19 spread, versus 59-10.
While Virginia opposes legal same-sex marriage by a 34-53 margin, 59% say they favor at least civil unions for gay couples, including 70% of Democrats, 66% of independents, and 39% of Republicans.
Virginia does not like either the left’s or the right’s populist movements, but when given a direct choice between the two, they narrowly choose Occupy Wall Street over the Tea Party, saying they have a higher opinion of the former than the latter by a 38-37 margin. More see the Tea Party favorably (35%) than O.W.S. (31%), but the difference between their unfavorable marks is even greater—47% for the Tea Party versus 39% for O.W.S.
In July, PPP found that the New York Yankees, at 14%, were the second most popular Major League Baseball team after the Atlanta Braves’ 19%, and that the Boston Red Sox tied the Washington Nationals for third at 11%. That seemed to suggest the population shift in the state that has helped it turn bluer. Now PPP finds that only two-thirds of the state considers themselves Southern, and 34% do not. And while the Washington Redskins are their favorite NFL team by far, with 29% of voters’ allegiances, the nearby Baltimore Ravens, having a great season, are the least popular of eight listed teams, at only 2%. Most (33%) favor some other team or have no favorite.
PPP surveyed 600 Virginia voters from December 10th to 12th. 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 have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Eric Cantor?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 21%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 38%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 41%
Q2 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal …………………. .34%
Illegal ………………… .53%
Not sure …………….. .13%
Q3 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…………………..31%
Gay couples should
be allowed to form
civil unions but not
marry…………………..28%
There should be no
legal recognition of
a gay couple’s
relationship ………….38%
Not sure …………….. . 3%
Q4 If there was an election for Congress today,
would you vote Democratic or Republican?
Democratic…………. .45%
Republican…………. .42%
Not sure …………….. .14%
Q5 Do you support or oppose the goals of the
Occupy Wall Street movement?
Support ……………… .31%
Oppose ……………… .39%
Not sure …………….. .30%
Q6 Do you support or oppose the goals of the Tea
Party movement?
Support ……………… .35%
Oppose ……………… .47%
Not sure …………….. .19%
Q7 Do you have a higher opinion of the Occupy
Wall Street movement or the Tea Party
movement?
Occupy Wall Street .38%
Tea Party …………… .37%
Not sure …………….. .25%
Q8 Do you consider yourself to be a Southerner, or
not?
Consider yourself a
Southerner …………..66%
Do not ……………….. .34%
Q9 Is your favorite NFL team the Atlanta Falcons,
Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Dallas
Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia
Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington
Redskins, or someone else?
Falcons ………………………………………………….. 3%
Ravens…………………………………………………… 2%
Panthers ………………………………………………… 3%
Cowboys………………………………………………… 10%
Packers………………………………………………….. 5%
Eagles……………………………………………………. 8%
Steelers………………………………………………….. 7%
Redskins………………………………………………… 29%
Someone else/Don’t have a favorite team …… 33%
Q10 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 43%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 48%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 9%
Q11 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 9%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 15%
Moderate………………………………………………… 34%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 18%
Q12 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 55%
Man……………………………………………………….. 45%
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……………………………………………… 33%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 31%
Q14 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 73%
African-American …………………………………….. 19%
Other……………………………………………………… 8%
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………………………………………………….. 14%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 30%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 36%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
