Now that it’s naturally time to look back on 2014, we thought it might be a good idea to look at results of flash polls Civitas commissioned in the fall.
As we always say, any poll is a snapshot of public opinion at one point in time. These are most revealing when we have a number of such snapshots that we can compare them to each other. In most cases, however, these Civitas flash polls seemed to be the only ones publicly available.
U.S. House Dist. 2
Civitas Flash Poll: Rep. Renee Ellmers was challenged by Clay Aiken. In the poll, 47 percent said they planned to vote for Ellmers, a Republican, with 39 percent choosing Aiken, a Democrat. Fourteen percent were undecided.
The election: Ellmers took 59 percent of the ballots compared to Aiken’s 41 percent.
Legislative Races*
The legislative flash polls interviewed 300 registered voters and had error margins of plus/minus 5.8 percent. Many showed the percentage of undecided voters in double digits, and some were taken a month or more before the election.
Civitas Flash Poll: Republican Rep. Tim Moffitt faced Democratic challenger Brian Turner in state House District 116: 47 percent said they planned to vote for Moffitt; 46 percent picked Turner; 7 percent were undecided.
The election: Turner won, 52 percent to 48 percent.
Civitas Flash Poll: Republican Mattie Lawson challenged Democratic Rep. Paul Tine in state House District 6; 44 percent said they planned to vote for Lawson; 46 percent picked Tine; 10 percent were undecided.
The election: Tine took 54 percent of the vote to Lawson’s 46 percent.
Civitas Flash Poll: Republican Tom McInnis faced Democratic Sen. Gene McLaurin and Libertarian P.H. Dawkins in state Senate District; 43 percent said they planned to vote for McInnis; 39 percent picked McLaurin; 7 percent favored Dawkins. Eleven percent were undecided.
The election: McInnis received 50 percent of the vote, McLaurin 47 percent, Dawkins 2.5 percent.
Civitas Flash Poll: Republican Larry Yarborough and Democrat Ray Jeffers squared off in the state House District 2; 50 percent said they planned to vote for Yarborough; 41 percent picked Jeffers, and 9 percent were undecided.
The election: Yarborough took 57 percent of the vote, as Jeffers got 43 percent.
Civitas Flash Poll: Republican Sen. Ron Rabin was challenged by Democrat Joe Langley in state Senate District 12; 54 percent said they planned to vote for Rabin; 42 percent picked Langley. Four percent were undecided.
The election: Rabin won with 57 percent of the ballots, compared to 44 percent to Langley.
Civitas Flash Poll: Republican Sen. Bill Cook took on Democrat challenger Stan White state Senate District 1 race; 45 percent said they planned to vote for Cook; 41 percent picked White. Fourteen percent were undecided.
The election: Cook won 54 percent of the vote. White received 46 percent.
Civitas Flash Poll: Republican Rep. Nathan Ramsey was challenged by Democrat challenger John Ager in state House District 115; 40 percent said they planned to vote for Ramsey; 53 percent picked Ager; seven percent were undecided.
The election: Ramsey received 49 percent of the vote to Ager’s 51 percent.
Civitas Flash Poll: Republican Rep. Gary Pendleton and Democrat challenger Kim Hanchette tied in the state House District 49 race, with each picked by 46 percent of voters and 8 percent of voters undecided.
The election: Pendleton received 52 percent of the vote; Hanchette took 48 percent.
Civitas Flash Poll: Republican state Sen. Michael Lee was opposed by Democratic challenger Elizabeth Redenbaugh in state Senate District 9 race; 45 percent said they planned to vote for Lee, with 41 percent choosing Redenbaugh. Fourteen percent were undecided.
Election: Lee received 55 percent of the ballots, with Redenbaugh receiving 44 percent.
Civitas Flash Poll: Democrat Dean Hicks challenged Republican Rep. Michele D. Presnell in state House District 118 race; 39 percent said they planned to vote for Presnell, with 51 percent choosing Hicks. Ten percent were undecided. The poll was taken Sept. 29-30, more than a month before the election.
Election: Presnell received 51 percent of the votes, and Hicks received 49 percent.
Civitas Flash Poll: Democrat Brad Salmon took on Republican Rep. Michael “Mike” Stone in state House District 51 race; 37 percent of those polled said they planned to vote for Stone, with 49 percent choosing Salmon. Fourteen percent were undecided.
The election: Salmon received 54 percent of the ballots, while Stone took 46 percent.
Civitas Flash Poll: Republican state Sen. Wesley Meredith was challenged by Democrat William O. “Billy” Richardson in Senate District 19; 52 percent said they planned to vote for Meredith, with 38 percent choosing Richardson. Ten percent were undecided.
The election: Meredith received 54 percent of the ballots, with Richardson garnering 46 percent.
To find out more, go to the press releases tab on our web page for info on individual polls.
*Percentages are rounded, and may not total 100.
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