News Releases

February 2013 Winthrop Poll Results

ROCK HILL, S.C. – The results of the latest Winthrop Poll, of 1,038 respondents living in South Carolina are in. The survey was in the field from Feb. 9-17, 2013. After weights (for sex, age, and race) have been applied, results which use all respondents have a margin of error of approximately +/-…

ROCK HILL, S.C. – The results of the latest Winthrop Poll, of 1,038 respondents living in South Carolina are in. The survey was in the field from Feb. 9-17, 2013.

After weights (for sex, age, and race) have been applied, results which use all respondents have a margin of error of approximately +/- 3.1% at the 95% confidence level. Results that use less than the full sample (e.g. just registered voters) will naturally have a higher margin of error.

For additional information on methodology, click here

Among the Winthrop Poll findings: 

  • ·         More than three months after Barack Obama won a second term as president, 47.6% of all South Carolinians polled approve of the job he is doing.
  • ·         Three-in-four of all respondents and more than 80% of registered S.C. voters disapproved of the way Congress is doing its job. Regarding the S.C. General Assembly, 40% of S.C. residents approved and 35.1% disapproved.
    • ·         S.C. Governor Nikki Haley garnered higher approval ratings in this poll compared to the December Winthrop Poll. Ratings have climbed to 43.7% for registered voters, compared to disapproval of 39.1%. In December, those numbers were nearly even.
    • ·         Governor Haley garners a much higher approval rating—66.8% vs. 16.2% who disapprove of her job performance—among those who are registered to vote and say they are either Republicans or Independents who lean Republican.
    • ·         U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is up for re-election in 2014, received a 48.4% approval rating among S.C. registered voters — 12 points higher than his disapproval rating– but his approval rating climbs to 71.6% among Republicans and those independents who lean toward the GOP.
  • ·         Tea Party membership continues to remain much lower than 2010 highs. In numbers similar to the December Winthrop Poll, only about 1 in 10 Republicans and GOP leaning independents who are registered approve of the Tea Party consider themselves a member of the movement.  Overall, only about 6% of all registered voters consider themselves members of the Tea Party movement. While membership in the Tea Party remains steady from December 2012, approval of the movement continues to drop across the board.
  • ·         Concerning lifestyle questions, only 41.7% respondents said they were close to their ideal weight, 23.2% reported experiencing significant physical pain recently, 1 in 10 reported depression, more than a third were stressed a lot, over a quarter were worried and only 22.1% engaged in vigorous exercise for at least 30 minutes daily or almost every day during the week with nearly 3 in 10 reporting NO physical exercise. Only 56% of respondents reported having eaten healthy the previous day. Nearly 43% of those with Internet in their homes frequently visit social networking sites.
  • ·         Fewer respondents think country is on the right track (36.3%) compared with those who say it is headed in the wrong direction (55%). Yet 48.3% said the economic conditions for the country as a whole are getting better, while 52.1% said conditions for S.C. are getting better.
    • ·         The most important problems facing the U.S. respondents said are, in order: the economy, the budget deficit or debt, jobs or employment, and politicians/government.

February 2013 Winthrop Poll – Results

 Note: Topline (may not sum to 100% due to rounding)

Weighted Demographics

T.1

Census*

February 2013 Winthrop Poll – All Respondents

Sex
Male

47.94

48.6

Female

52.06

51.4

Race
Caucasian

68.57

68.4

African American

26.5

27.1

Other

4.93

4.5

Age
18-19

4.06

4.0

20-29

17.97

17.9

30-39

16.49

16.2

40-49

17.98

17.7

50-59

17.77

17.7

60-69

13.99

13.9

70-79

7.52

7.3

80-89

3.6

3.5

90-99

.62

.6

99 & over

.018

0.0

Refused

1.2

*Census percentages are ONLY for those S.C. residents age 18 and over.

T.2

Registered Voters – SC Election Commission (accessed 2/18/13)

February 2013 Winthrop Poll – Registered Voters

Sex
Male

45.0

46.9

Female

55.0

53.1

Race
White

68.7

68.3

Non-white

31.3

31.6

Age
18-24

4.7

4.7

25-44

38.3

37.7

45-65

35.9

35.6

65+

21.1

20.3

Refused

1.6

T.3 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President of the United States?

All

Gallup National Poll as of 2/17/13

Registered Voters in SC

Approve

47.6

52

48.1

Disapprove

45.2

42

46.8

Not Sure

6.5

6

4.8

Refused

.7

.3

T.4 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?

All

Gallup National Poll as of 1/10/13

Registered Voters in SC

Approve

14.1

14

12.2

Disapprove

75.5

81

80.3

Not Sure

10

6

7.5

Refused

.4

.1

T.5 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Nikki Haley is handling her job as Governor of South Carolina?

All

All –

Excluding Not Sure and Refused

Registered Voters in SC

Registered Voters in SC – Excluding Not Sure and Refused

Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters

Approve

42.5

52.5

43.7

52.8

66.8

Disapprove

38.4

47.5

39.1

47.2

16.2

Not Sure

18.2

16.4

16.8

Refused

1.0

.8

.2

*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina.  Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.

T.6 Do you approve or disapprove of the way the South Carolina State Legislature is handling its job?

All

Registered Voters in SC

Approve

40.0

39.3

Disapprove

35.1

37.0

Not Sure

24.1

23.3

Refused

.9

.4

T.7 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Lindsay Graham is handling its job as a United States Senator for South Carolina?

All

All –

Excluding Not Sure and Refused

Registered Voters in SC

Registered Voters in SC – Excluding Not Sure and Refused

Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters

Approve

47.3

58.4

48.4

57.1

71.6

Disapprove

33.7

41.6

36.3

42.9

17.4

Not Sure

18.3

14.8

10.7

Refused

.6

.5

.3

*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina.  Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.

T.8 In December, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint resigned his post to become the president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank. Governor Nikki Haley appointed Representative Tim Scott, the Congressman from South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, to replace Jim DeMint in the U.S. Senate.


Would you say the choice of Tim Scott to fill the vacancy in the U.S. Senate was: Excellent, Good, Only Fair, or Poor? 

All

Registered Voters in SC

Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters

Excellent

16.1

18.6

31.6

Good

29.0

30.1

38.0

Only fair

25.2

24.4

10.8

Poor

10.1

11.7

3.3

Not sure

18.4

14.2

14.9

Refused

1.2

1.0

1.4

*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina.  Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.

T.9 Would you say that your overall opinion of U.S. Senator Tim Scott is favorable or unfavorable?

All

Registered Voters in SC

Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters

Favorable

52.0

54.8

73.2

Unfavorable

19.0

18.8

4.5

Not sure/don’t know

27.4

25.1

21.2

Refused

1.5

1.3

1.2

*NOTE: Senator Scott has not been on the job long enough to ask whether respondents approve/disapprove of the way he is handling his job. Therefore, it was determined that favorable/unfavorable ratings would be more appropriate at this time.
*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina.  Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.

T.10 Thinking about the current path that our nation is taking, do you think our country is on the right track or headed in the wrong direction?

All

Right Track

36.3

Wrong Direction

55.0

Don’t Know/  Refused to Answer

8.7

T.11 Thinking about the current path that state of South Carolina is taking, do you think state of South Carolina is on the right track or headed in the wrong direction?

All

Right Track

45.6

Wrong Direction

41.2

Don’t Know/ Refused to Answer

13.1

T.12 What do you think is the most important problem facing the United States of America today?

(Top four responses listed.  Response options are not read to respondents.  Interviewers code responses into one of 30 answer options)

All

Economy or Economic/financial crisis

22.5

Budget deficit or debt

14.4

Jobs or unemployment

14.3

Politicians/ government

10.1

T.13 What do you think is the most important problem facing the State of South Carolina today?

(Top four responses listed.  Response options are not read to respondents.  Interviewers code responses into one of 30 answer options)

All

Jobs or unemployment

24.2

Economy or Economic/financial crisis

14.0

Education

12.8

Politicians/ government

6.5

T.14 How would you rate the condition of the national economy these days? Is it very good, fairly good, fairly bad or very bad?

All

Very Good

1.7

Fairly Good

31.6

Fairly Bad

36.6

Very Bad

27.8

Not Sure

2.1

Refused

.2

T.15 Right now, do you think that economic conditions in the country as a whole are getting better or getting worse?

All

Getting Better

48.3

Getting Worse

44.0

Not Sure

7.3

Refused

.4

T.16 How would you rate the condition of the economy of South Carolina these days? Is it very good, fairly good, fairly bad, or very bad?

All

Very Good

3.3

Fairly Good

47.7

Fairly Bad

32.7

Very Bad

11.8

Not Sure

3.8

Refused

.8

T.17 Right now, do you think that economic conditions in the South Carolina are getting better or getting worse?

All

Getting Better

52.1

Getting Worse

33.1

Not Sure

13.5

Refused

1.2

T.18 How would you rate your financial situation today? As excellent, good, only fair, or poor?

All

Excellent

7.2

Good

42.6

Only Fair

34.3

Poor

13.9

Not Sure

.9

Refused

1.1

T.19 Right now, do you think that your financial situation as a whole is getting better or getting worse?

All

Getting Better

52.0

Getting Worse

32.2

Not Sure

14.4

Refused

1.4

T.20 OK, now I’d like to ask some different kinds of questions.  First, do you have internet access in your home? [Includes access via smart phone]

All

Yes

84.6

No

15.0

Not Sure

.3

Refused

.0

T.21 Is your home internet access, high speed, such as DSL or a Cable Modem, dial-up, on only via a smart phone that does not use your home’s wireless access?

All

High Speed

89.1

Dial Up

4.0

Smart Phone Only

3.8

Not Sure

2.8

Refused

.2

*NOTE: This question was only asked of those respondents who reported that they had internet access in their home.

T.22 Do you visit social networking sites, such as FaceBook, MySpace, or LinkedIn on the internet very often, often, sometimes, hardly at all, or never?

All

Very Often

23.0

Often

19.5

Sometimes

18.6

Hardly At All

13.1

Never

25.6

Refused to Answer

.2

*NOTE: This question was only asked of those respondents who reported that they had internet access in their home.

T.23 Do you primarily see the internet in your life as a tool for communication, for work, for information, or for entertainment?

All

Communication

12.2

Work

20.3

Information

38.6

Entertainment

14.8

Other

13.0

Refused to Answer

1.1

*NOTE: This question was only asked of those respondents who reported that they had internet access in their home.

T.24 On a different subject, would you say you ate healthy all day yesterday?

All

Yes

56.0

No

42.1

Not Sure

1.5

Refused

.5

T.25 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your personal health?

All

Satisfied

72.1

Dissatisfied

25.7

Don’t know/ Not sure

1.8

Refused

.3

T.26 Do you have any health problems that prevent you from doing any of the things people your age normally can do?

All

Yes

21.2

No

78.1

Don’t know/ Not sure

.2

Refused

.5

Did you experience the following feelings during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?

[NOTE: The following four questions were randomized]

T.27 How about…physical pain? [Did you experience this during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?]

All

Yes

23.2

No

76.6

Don’t know/ Not sure

0

Refused

.3

T.28 How about…depression? [Did you experience this during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?]

All

Yes

10.3

No

89.1

Don’t know/ Not sure

.3

Refused

.3

T.29 How about…stress? [Did you experience this during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?]

All

Yes

36.2

No

62.9

Don’t know/ Not sure

.6

Refused

.3

T.30 How about…worry?   [Did you experience this during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?]

 

All

Yes

27.7

No

71.8

Don’t know/ Not sure

.3

Refused

.3

T.31 How many days during the last 7 days did you engage in vigorous physical exercise for at least 30 minutes?

 

All

0

29.1

1 – 2

23.4

3 – 4

22.9

5 – 7

22.3

Don’t Know/ Not Sure

1.8

Refused to Answer

.4

*NOTE: Respondents who answered with a range, such as “two to three,” were coded as the lower number

T.32 I’m going to read several statements and ask you to tell me whether each statement was oftensometimes, or never true for your household during the past 12 monthsYou were worried that food would run out in your household before you were able to afford to buy more. Was that statement often, sometimes, or never true for your household during the past 12 months?

All

Often

6.3

Sometimes

15.0

Never

77.5

Not Sure

.7

Refused

.4

T.33 You felt that you couldn’t afford to serve everyone balanced meals in your household because there wasn’t enough money.  Was that statement often, sometimes, or never true for your household during the past 12 months?

All

Often

6.9

Sometimes

12.5

Never

79.7

Not Sure

.4

Refused

.4

T.34 Think for a moment about what you would consider your ideal physical weight. Would you say that your current weight is much higher than that ideal, somewhat higher than that ideal, very close to that ideal, somewhat lower than that ideal, or much lower than that ideal?

 

All

Much Higher

13.0

Somewhat higher

37.0

Close to ideal

41.7

Somewhat lower

4.4

Much lower

1.6

Not Sure/ Don’t Know

1.1

Refused

1.2

T.35 In general, would you say you approve or disapprove of the Tea Party movement or are you not familiar enough with the Tea Party movement to have an opinion?

All

Registered Voters in SC

Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters

Approve

24.1

26.5

48.0

Disapprove

34.7

37.9

20.6

Not Familiar

34.6

28.4

22.0

Not sure

5.4

6.0

8.6

Refused

1.2

1.2

.8

*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina.  Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.

T.36 Would you consider yourself a MEMBER of the Tea Party Movement?

 

All

Registered Voters in SC

Republicans & GOP Leaning Ind who are Reg. Voters

Yes

5.5

6.1

10.6

No

87.4

88.2

84.1

Not sure

6.4

4.7

4.6

Refused

.7

1.1

.7

*NOTE: We do not register by political party in South Carolina.  Therefore, partisanship is self-reported.

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