Voters Disapprove of Handling of Economy
Raleigh, N.C. – Voters in North Carolina continue to sour on Governor Bev Perdue’s performance in office according to the latest poll released today by the Civitas Institute.
According to the live caller poll of 600 voters, 46 percent of voters approve of the job she is doing as governor. 42 percent disapprove. The 4 percentage point spread between those approving and disapproving of the Governor’s performance is down 32 points from her initial approval rating in Civitas’ February poll (52/16).
“In just three months Governor Perdue’s approval numbers have fallen dramatically,” said Civitas Institute executive director Francis De Luca. “With unemployment continuing to rise and North Carolina’s economy continuing to struggle, voters are increasingly focusing their frustration on Governor Perdue.”
When asked if the Governor was doing a good job handling the economic crisis in the state, more voters disagreed (49 percent) than agreed (43 percent).
Voters also strongly disapproved of Governor Perdue’s action to cut the salary of state employees and teachers by 0.5 percent in order to close the current budget deficit. 65 percent disapproved of the cut while only 31 percent approved.
“Governor Perdue’s poll numbers are paying the price for unpopular actions,” added De Luca. “Under her watch she has called for a $500 million tax increase, cut the salaries of state employees and teachers and seen unemployment skyrocket to in excess of 11 percent. If the unemployment rate continues to go up, her poll numbers will likely continue to go down.”
The Civitas Poll is the only monthly live-caller poll of critical issues facing North Carolina. For more polling information on Civitas polling see www.nccivitas.org/media/poll-results/.
Full text of questions:
Do you approve or disapprove of the job Bev Perdue is doing as governor?
Approve – 46%
Disapprove – 42%
Not Sure – 4%
Please tell me if you agree or disagree with the following statement: Governor Bev Perdue is doing a good job handling the economic crisis in our state?
Agree – 43%
Disagree – 49%
Not Sure – 8%
Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Bev Perdue’s decision to cut the salaries of state employees and teachers in order to close the state’s budget deficit?
Approve – 31%
Disapprove – 65%
Not Sure – 4%
Click here for full results and crosstabs.
The study of 600 registered voters was conducted May 18-21, 2009 by Tel Opinion Research of Alexandria, Virginia. All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina. For purposes of this study, voters we interviewed had to have voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.
The confidence interval associated with a sample of this size is such that: 95 percent of the time, results from 600 interviews (registered voters) will be within +-4% of the “True Values.” True Values refer to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every person in North Carolina who had voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.
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