Winthrop Poll: Haley and Graham Approval Rising

The latest poll from Winthrop University shows that the approval ratings for Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Lindsey Graham are improving.

The news comes as both are gearing up for re-election in 2014.

President Barack Obama also has higher approval than disapproval. Congress as a whole continues to be wildly unpopular.

Sen. Tim Scott still in his first months on the job also has high approval ratings.

See the complete poll below, courtesy of Winthrop University:

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 often,
sometimes, or never true for your household during the past 12 months. You 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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