2010 MISSISSIPPI POLL ON-LINE RESULTS:

This telephone survey was conducted by the Survey Research Laboratory (SRL) of the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University with facilities that permit simultaneous use of twenty telephones. The SSRC is directed by Dr. Arthur Cosby, and the SRL is directed by Dr. John Edwards, who is assisted by the SRL founder Dr. Wolfgang Frese. A random sampling technique was used to select the households, and a random method was employed in sampling each individual within the household. No substitutions were permitted, and up to ten callbacks were made. Calls were made from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weeknights (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), and from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and 1PM to 9PM on Sundays. A Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing System (CATI) was used to collect the data. Thirty undergraduate students in Dr. Shaffer’s Political Analysis class made the phone calls. Six hundred and four adult Mississippi residents were interviewed from April 5-25, 2010. The response rate was 42%. With 604 people surveyed, the sample error for the full sample was plus or minus 4.1%, which means that if every Mississippi resident had been interviewed, the results could differ from those reported here by as much as 4.1%. Some analyses examine only "likely voters," who consist of 368 individuals in the sample, which results in a sample error level of 5.3% for results in those analyses. Likely voters are determined by responses to an additive scale of the campaign interest, intent to vote in November, and knowledge of one’s U.S. Representative question items. In order to achieve a representative sample, the dataset was adjusted or weighted by selected demographic characteristics to adequately represent the diversity of the entire population. A special technical brief about the increasing difficulty of sampling in the era of cell phones is available on-line. The Director of the Survey was Dr. Stephen Shaffer in the MSU Political Science Department, who also produced this on-line summary of the results.

REPUBLICANS HOLD EARLY LEAD IN TWO HYPOTHETICAL PAIRINGS IN THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Question Wording: If the presidential election was held today, and the candidates were

President Barack Obama the Democrat, and former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin the Republican, whom would you vote for? Obama or Palin? (Asked of 368 likely voters in the general election)

Obama = 35.9%

Palin = 52.7%

Undecided = 11.4%

Source: 2010 Mississippi Poll.

Question Wording: If the presidential election was held today, and the candidates were

President Barack Obama the Democrat, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney the Republican, whom would you vote for? Obama or Romney? (Asked of 368 likely voters in the general election)

Obama = 35.6%

Romney = 52.8%

Undecided = 11.6%

Source: 2010 Mississippi Poll.

OBAMA VIEWED AS MUCH MORE LIBERAL THAN AVERAGE MISSISSIPPIAN

Asked of 604 adult Mississippi residents: "Please label the following political figures as very liberal, somewhat liberal, moderate or middle of the road, somewhat conservative, or very conservative... President Barack Obama, Republican Sarah Palin, Governor Haley Barbour, and Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant." The last row indicates voters' responses to the following question: "What about your political beliefs? Do you consider yourself: very liberal, somewhat liberal, moderate or middle of the road, somewhat conservative, or very conservative?"

	VERY LIBERAL	SOMEWHAT LIBERAL	MODERATE	SOMEWHAT CONSERVATIVE	VERY CONSERVATIVE	DON’T KNOW
Barack Obama	47%	24%	10%	5%	4%	10%
Sarah Palin	5%	9%	18%	25%	24%	19%
Haley Barbour	4%	10%	13%	30%	26%	17%
Phil Bryant	4%	7%	17%	23%	9%	40%
Residents' Own Views	6%	7%	32%	24%	24%	7%

Note: Percentages total 100% across each row.

Source: 2010 Mississippi Poll.

BARBOUR’S JOB PERFORMANCE RATING REMAINS FAVORABLE

"I'm going to ask you to rate the job performance of a few political figures and institutions. Rate each of them as excellent, good, fair, or poor. What about Governor …?" (Note: asked of 368 likely voters in 2010; results from previous governors included)

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor	No Opinion	Favorable Rating (E+G)/ (E+G+F+P)
Winter
1981	12%	46%	34%	6%	2%	59%
1982	15%	43%	32%	8%	2%	59%
Allain
1984	6%	33%	44%	9%	8%	42%
1986	10%	39%	40%	11%	0%	49%
Mabus
1988	14%	39%	29%	4%	14%	62%
1990	17%	31%	31%	20%	1%	48%
Fordice
1992	8%	36%	21%	22%	13%	51%
1994	19%	36%	32%	12%	1%	56%
1996	17%	34%	29%	16%	4%	53%
1998	11%	44%	32%	9%	4%	57%
1999	11%	34%	36%	13%	6%	48%
Musgrove
2000	14%	39%	18%	6%	23%	69%
2002	9%	32%	35%	18%	6%	44%
Barbour
2004	12%	28%	25%	12%	23%	52%
2006	16%	32%	32%	16%	4%	50%
2008	23%	34%	31%	10%	2%	58%
2010	20%	30%	33%	15%	2%	51%

Note: Percentages in first five columns total 100% across each row.

Source: 2006 press release; 2008 and 2010 Mississippi Polls.

OBAMA’S JOB PERFORMANCE SIMILAR TO OTHER DEMOCRATS

"I'm going to ask you to rate the job performance of a few political figures and institutions. Rate each of them as excellent, good, fair, or poor. What about President Barack Obama?" (Asked of entire sample; don’t knows omitted from analysis; the 1988 results combined two different surveys conducted that year.)

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor	Favorable Rating (E+G)
Reagan
1981	22	31	29	18	53%
1982	10	30	34	26	40%
1984	21	33	22	24	54%
1986	20	35	27	18	55%
1988	23	38	24	15	61%
Bush 1
1990	19	41	32	8	60%
1992	10	39	36	15	49%
Clinton
1994	6	26	39	29	32%
1996	11	27	34	28	38%
1998	15	32	30	23	47%
1999	13	34	24	29	47%
2000	10	37	25	28	47%
Bush 2
2002	36	33	19	12	69%
2004	25	24	25	26	49%
2006	15	30	27	28	45%
2008	9	25	33	34	34%
Obama
2010	14	24	23	39	38%

Note: Percentages in first four columns total 100% across each row.

Source: 2006 press release; 2008 and 2010 Mississippi Polls.

LEGISLATURE'S JOB RATING DIPS FROM RELATIVE HIGH POINT

"I'm going to ask you to rate the job performance of a few political figures and institutions. Rate each of them as excellent, good, fair, or poor. What about the Mississippi state legislature?" (Asked of entire sample)

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor	No Opinion	Favorable Rating (E+G) - (P)
1981	3%	36%	46%	8%	7%	+31
1982	5%	24%	43%	15%	13%	+14
1984	3%	25%	51%	11%	10%	+17
1986	2%	27%	41%	17%	13%	+12
1988	4%	29%	46%	12%	9%	+21
1990	2%	23%	50%	16%	9%	+9
1992	2%	16%	44%	29%	9%	-11
1994	2%	22%	45%	22%	9%	+2
1996	5%	29%	44%	12%	10%	+22
1998	5%	28%	45%	9%	13%	+24
1999	5%	35%	39%	8%	13%	+32
2000	3%	34%	44%	9%	10%	+28
2002	4%	31%	38%	15%	12%	+20
2004	4%	30%	43%	14%	9%	+20
2006	2%	29%	42%	17%	10%	+14
2008	3%	33%	44%	12%	8%	+24
2010	4%	26%	46%	17%	7%	+13

Note: Percentages in first five columns total 100% across each row. In calculating the Favorable Rating, "fair" is an ambiguous category when rating an institution, so it is excluded from the analysis.

Source: 2006 press release; 2008 and 2010 Mississippi Polls.

GENERAL TRUST IN PUBLIC OFFICIALS BELOW HISTORIC AVERAGE

Question Wording (asked of entire sample): “How much of the time do you think you can trust public officials in Mississippi to do what is right—almost always, most of the time, only some of the time, or rarely?”

YEAR	ALWAYS	MOST OF TIME	SOME OF TIME	RARELY	NO OPINION	POSITIVITY- (always+most of time) -(rarely)
1981	8%	39%	42%	8%	3%	+39
1990	5	27	49	17	2	+15
1992	2	14	57	26	1	-10
1994	4	25	44	25	1	+4
1996	5	26	47	20	2	+11
1998	6	30	46	14	4	+22
1999	5	38	40	13	4	+30
2000	5	32	46	15	2	+22
2002	6	35	46	12	1	+29
2004	3	29	45	22	1	+10
2006	4	23	49	23	1	+4
2008	3	29	50	17	1	+15
2010	3	24	49	22	2	+5

Note: Percentages in first five columns total 100% across each row.

Source: 2006 press release; 2008 and 2010 Mississippi Polls.

REPUBLICANS MAKE GAINS IN 2010

Question wording (asked of entire sample): “Generally speaking, do you consider yourself a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or what?” (Independents were asked: “Do you think of yourself as closer to the Democratic party or to the Republican party?” Those leaning towards either party were considered identifiers of that party.)

YEAR	DEMOCRATS	INDEPENDENTS	REPUBLICANS	PARTY ADVANTAGE
1981	61%	7%	32%	29D
1982	61%	14%	25%	36D
1984	56%	15%	29%	27D
1986	54%	10%	36%	18D
1988	53%	13%	34%	19D
1990	56%	8%	36%	20D
1992	47%	13%	40%	7D
1994	47%	12%	41%	6D
1996	48%	10%	42%	6D
1998	47%	11%	42%	5D
1999	51%	10%	39%	12D
2000	54%	6%	40%	14D
2002	45%	8%	47%	2R
2004	43%	11%	46%	3R
2006	47%	6%	47%	0
2008	48%	9%	43%	5D
2010	39%	11%	50%	11R

Note: Percentages in first three columns total 100% across each row. Values in the last column indicate the Democratic or Republican advantage in each year, and is the difference in percentages between the two parties.

Source: 2006 press release; 2008 and 2010 Mississippi Polls.

QUALITY OF LIFE IN STATE NEAR HISTORIC HIGH

Asked of entire sample: “Overall, how would you rate Mississippi as a place to live—excellent, good, fair, or poor?”

YEAR	EXCELLENT	GOOD	FAIR	POOR	POSITIVE: EXCELLENT PLUS GOOD
1981	37%	40%	18%	5%	+77
1986	29%	38%	26%	7%	+67
1992	20%	46%	25%	9%	+66
1994	27%	43%	24%	6%	+70
1996	26%	50%	21%	3%	+76
1998	30%	50%	18%	2%	+80
1999	28%	45%	23%	4%	+73
2000	28%	44%	24%	4%	+72
2002	26%	48%	20%	6%	+74
2004	28%	41%	25%	6%	+69
2006	32%	40%	23%	5%	+72
2008	28%	46%	22%	4%	+74
2010	35%	44%	16%	5%	+79

Note: Note: Percentages in first four columns total 100% across each row. The last column combines the most positive responses, those rating Mississippi’s quality of life as excellent or good.

Source: 2006 press release; 2008 and 2010 Mississippi Polls.

FINANCIAL SATISFACTION NEAR HISTORIC LOW

Asked of entire sample: “We are interested in how people are getting along financially these days. So far as you and your family are concerned, would you say that you are pretty well satisfied with your present financial situation, more or less satisfied, or not satisfied at all?”

YEAR	Pretty Well Satisfied	More or Less Satisfied	Not Satisfied At All	No Opinion	Satisfaction Level- (Pretty Well Sat. – Not Satisfied)
1984	39%	41%	19%	1%	+20
1986	32	47	21	0	+11
1988	38	43	18	1	+20
1990	35	46	18	1	+17
1992	29	41	30	0	-1
1994	36	41	22	1	+14
1996	43	37	20	0	+23
1998	41	40	19	0	+22
2004	39	38	23	0	+16
2006	39	40	21	0	+18
2008	39	40	21	0	+18
2010	34	39	26	1	+8

Note: Percentages in first four columns total 100% across each row.

Source: 2006 press release; 2008 and 2010 Mississippi Polls.

ACCESS TO COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO RISE

Asked of entire sample: “Do you have access to a personal computer?”

YEAR	Has Access to PC	Does Not have Access
1996	50	50
1998	56	44
2000	62	38
2004	68	32
2006	71	29
2008	67	33
2010	78	22

Note: Percentages total 100% across each row.

Source: Mississippi Poll project.

GEOGRAPHIC MOBILITY AT HISTORIC AVERAGE

Asked of entire sample: “How likely do you think it will be that you will be living in your community five years from now? Definitely no, probably no, probably yes, or definitely yes?”

YEAR	DEFINITELY NO	PROBABLY NO	PROBABLY YES	DEFINITELY YES	DON’T KNOW	YES (Definite+Probably)
1990	6%	12%	38%	40%	4%	+78
1992	6	11	34	47	2	+81
1994	6	11	35	47	1	+82
1996	5	14	33	46	2	+79
1998	6	12	34	48	0	+82
2004	11	14	31	42	2	+73
2006	7	13	28	50	2	+78
2008	7	14	32	46	1	+78
2010	8	12	30	49	1	+79

Note: Percentages in first five columns total 100% across each row.

Source: 2006 press release; 2008 and 2010 Mississippi Polls.

MISSISSIPPIANS VALUE STATE PROGRAMS

Asked of 604 adult Mississippi residents: "Now I'm going to ask you about some issues facing state and local government in Mississippi. As you know, most of the money government spends comes from the taxes you and others pay. For each of the following, please tell me whether you think state and local government in Mississippi should be spending more, less, or about the same as now."

STATE PROGRAM	SPEND MORE	SPEND THE SAME	SPEND LESS	NO OPINION
Public Grade Schools and High Schools	72	16	9	3
Health Care and Hospitals	56	27	13	4
Public Colleges and Universities	56	31	10	3
Streets and Highways	50	38	11	1
Industrial Growth and Development	56	30	11	3
Programs for the Poor	51	30	17	2
Police Forces	55	33	11	1
Child Day Care Facilities	47	32	15	6
Encouraging Tourism	43	31	24	2
Environmental Programs	35	38	23	4

Note: Percentages total 100% across each row.

Source: 2010 Mississippi Poll.

PROGRAM SUPPORT NEVERTHELESS IS BELOW HISTORIC AVERAGES

Asked of entire sample in years indicated: "Now I'm going to ask you about some issues facing state and local government in Mississippi. As you know, most of the money government spends comes from the taxes you and others pay. For each of the following, please tell me whether you think state and local government in Mississippi should be spending more, less, or about the same as now." (Table entries are percentages who respond that “more” should be spent; na indicated that question was not asked that year.)

	‘81	‘84	‘88	‘90	‘92	‘94	‘96	‘98	‘99	‘00	‘04	‘06	‘08	‘10
Schools	69	72	75	80	76	79	79	83	80	79	83	79	78	72
Health $	59	62	70	73	74	68	68	70	71	74	72	74	73	56
Colleges	59	60	68	63	68	65	60	64	61	63	63	60	55	56
Streets	61	65	67	70	62	64	59	66	64	59	61	60	61	50
Industry	71	61	71	61	69	63	57	53	58	56	63	57	61	56
Poor $	51	59	57	63	57	57	57	61	60	66	62	61	64	51
Police	58	50	57	65	63	67	62	64	65	56	59	62	63	55
Day Care	na	na	48	59	55	57	55	63	na	na	54	54	54	47
Tourism	50	45	47	52	48	49	38	45	na	46	48	41	43	43
Environ.	39	38	41	48	49	45	37	43	43	45	40	48	44	35

Source: Mississippi Poll Project.

SUPPORT FOR GOVERNMENT HEALTH ROLE STRONG, BUT DIPS RECENTLY

Asked of entire sample in years indicated: “Do you strong agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statement? The government ought to help people get doctors and hospital care at low cost.”

YEAR	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Undecided
1992	27	58	10	2	3
1994	24	53	17	4	2
1996	29	55	12	3	1
1998	28	54	14	3	1
2000	33	53	11	2	1
2004	37	52	9	1	1
2006	34	52	12	1	1
2008	49	37	9	4	1
2010	30	40	18	10	2

Note: Percentages total 100% across each row.

Source: Mississippi Poll Project.

SUPPORT FOR SEX EQUALITY LEVELS OFF

Asked of entire sample: “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement—Women should take care of running their homes and leave running the country up to men?” Those agreeing with this statement are classified as “Against Equal Rights for women” and those disagreeing with the statement are classified as “For Equal Rights”.

YEAR	AGAINST EQUAL RIGHTS	FOR EQUAL RIGHTS	NO OPINION
1984	41%	53%	6%
1986	39	56	5
1988	39	55	6
1990	34	61	5
1994	24	70	6
1996	28	68	4
1998	25	70	5
1999	22	73	5
2004	25	69	6
2006	26	69	5
2008	31	64	5
2010	27	68	5

Note: Percentages total 100% across each row.

Source: 2006 press release; 2008 and 2010 Mississippi Polls.

RESIDENTS CONCERNED OVER RACIAL PROFILING POSSIBILITIES

Three questions asked of entire sample: 1) “Racial Profiling is when a law enforcement officer stops and asks a person questions or detains them, merely because of their race. Have you ever been a victim of racial profiling?” 2) “Do you believe that racial profiling is a widespread practice in Mississippi?” 3) “Do you believe that law enforcement officers should be allowed to use racial profiling to fight crime?”

	2004	2006	2008	2010
Ever Been Profiled?
Yes	18	15	15	16
No	81	83	85	83
Don’t Know	1	2	0	1
Is Racial Profiling Widespread?
Yes	45	50	53	51
No	42	38	36	41
Don’t Know	13	12	11	8
Should Racial Profiling Be Allowed?
Yes	16	22	20	19
No	80	73	77	75
No Opinion	4	5	3	6

Note: Percentages total 100% down each column for each question.

Source: Mississippi Poll Project.

MISSISSIPPIANS CONTINUE TO BE MORE PRO-LIFE THAN PRO-CHOICE

Asked of entire sample: “Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statement: By law, a woman should be able to have an abortion as a matter of personal choice."

YEAR	Strong Agree	Agree	Undecided	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
2000	9%	34%	5%	32%	20%
2002	14	27	3	30	26
2006	11	31	4	31	23
2008	9	27	6	30	28
2010	15	28	6	28	23

Note: Percentages total 100% across each row.

Source: Mississippi Poll Project.

RESIDENTS SPLIT BETWEEN DEATH PENALTY AND LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE

Asked of entire sample: “For someone who is convicted or murder, do you GENERALLY favor the death penalty, life in prison without parole, or a jail term that is shorter than for the rest of someone's life?”

YEAR	Death Penalty	Life without Parole	Shorter than Life Jail Term	Undecided
1996	53	40	2	5
2006	47	41	4	8
2008	44	40	7	9
2010	47	38	6	9

Note: Percentages total 100% across each row.

Source: Mississippi Poll Project.

ATTITUDES TOWARDS GAYS AND DRUGS ARE COMPLEX

Three questions asked for the first time in the 2010 Mississippi Poll; asked of entire sample:

“Which of these three options do you favor for gay couples: They should be allowed to get legally married; they should be allowed legally to form civil unions but not to marry; or they should not be allowed to obtain any legal recognition of their relationships.”

Legal marriage = 25.6%

Civil unions = 21.1%

No legal recognition = 49.4%

No opinion = 3.9%

“Some people have proposed legalizing marijuana and then taxing its sale as a way of raising revenue for state governments. Would you favor or oppose doing this in Mississippi?”

Favor = 30.0%

Oppose = 62.8%

No opinion = 7.2%

“Would you favor or oppose allowing doctors in Mississippi to prescribe marijuana to patients in order to reduce their pain and suffering?”

Favor = 67.8%

Oppose = 26.4%

No opinion = 5.8%

DEFENSE SPENDING SUPPORT CONTINUES BELOW POST 9-11 HIGH

Asked of entire sample: “Should National Defense spending be increased, decreased, or kept about the same?”

YEAR	Increased	Decreased	Kept Same	No opinion
2002	55	8	32	5
2008	32	16	50	2
2010	34	13	46	7

Note: Percentages total 100% across each row.

Source: Mississippi Poll Project.

SOME RACIAL DIFFERENCES EXIST ON KEY ISSUES

Asked of whites and African Americans in 2008 and 2010: 1) “Do you strong agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statement? Because of past discrimination blacks should be given preference in hiring and promotion.” 2) “Do you strong agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statement? The government in Washington should make every effort to improve the social and economic position of blacks and other minority groups.” 3) “For someone who is convicted or murder, do you GENERALLY favor the death penalty, life in prison without parole, or a jail term that is shorter than for the rest of someone's life? (Note: 1986 asks "Are you in favor of the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?" 4) “Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statement. The government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living.” 5) “Do you strong agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statement? The government ought to help people get doctors and hospital care at low cost.” 6) “Which of these three options do you favor for gay couples: They should be allowed to get legally married; they should be allowed legally to form civil unions but not to marry; or they should not be allowed to obtain any legal recognition of their relationships.” 7) "Now I'm going to ask you about some issues facing state and local government in Mississippi. As you know, most of the money government spends comes from the taxes you and others pay. For each of the following, please tell me whether you think state and local government in Mississippi should be spending more, less, or about the same as now. Programs for the Poor." 8) “Racial Profiling is when a law enforcement officer stops and asks a person questions or detains them, merely because of their race. Have you ever been a victim of racial profiling?” 9) “Do you believe that racial profiling is a widespread practice in Mississippi?” 10) “Do you believe that law enforcement officers should be allowed to use racial profiling to fight crime?”

	Whites	African Americans
Racial Preferences in Hiring and Promotions
Favor	9%	48%
Oppose	91%	52%
Gov’t Should Improve Blacks’ Social and Economic Positions
Agree	38%	91%
Disagree	62%	9%
Preferred Penalty for Murder:
Death Penalty	66%	18%
Life without Parole	32%	62%
Term Shorted than Life	2%	20%
Gov’t Should Provide Jobs and Good Living Standard
Yes	53%	88%
No	47%	12%
Gov’t Should Greatly Lower Health Care Costs
Yes	69%	98%
No	31%	2%
Gay Couples Legal Options Favored:
Legal Marriage	17%	45%
Civil Unions	23%	20%
No Legal Recognition at All	60%	35%
Poverty Spending Desired Level:
Increased	47%	79%
Decreased	19%	3%
Kept the Same	34%	18%
Ever Been Profiled?
Yes	8%	28%
No	92%	72%
Is Racial Profiling Widespread?
Yes	47%	77%
No	53%	23%
Should Racial Profiling Be Allowed?
Yes	28%	8%
No	72%	92%

Note: Percentages total 100% down each column for each question. This analysis of the most recent 2008 and 2010 data combines both years to increase the precision of the results. To better illustrate racial differences, “don’t knows” have been omitted from the analysis, and some response categories have been combined.