National media uses Winthrop Poll
Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 4:03PM By Jeff Patterson
One in five South Carolinians worried about having enough food to eat at some point last year, according to the Winthrop Poll.
The results were from 837 respondents in South Carolina polled in February 2010. “We wanted to get a glimpse at South Carolina beyond politics,” said Scott Huffmon, the poll’s director.
The Social and Behavioral Research Lab at Winthrop conducts the poll each semester. Huffmon said he knew food insecurity was a problem from his experience working with anti-poverty groups in York County.
“We know how many people live in abject poverty,” he said, “but this shed light on how those on the edge are suffering.”
Despite the number of people who reported food insecurity, 94 percent of respondents said they are “very” or “somewhat” happy.
“Even though we’re broke, we’re happy,” Huffmon said. A majority of South Carolinians, 68 percent, said the country’s opinion of the state became less favorable last year.
Several South Carolina public officials did embarrassing things throughout 2009. Perhaps best known is when Gov. Mark Sanford disappeared for several days to be with his mistress in Argentina. He then dug a deeper hole for himself when he continued to talk about the affair, saying his “soulmate” was someone besides his wife. Rep. Joe Wilson shouted “You lie!”at the president during a joint session of Congress. Republican activist and former chairman of the state elections commission Rusty DePass said first lady Michelle Obama was related to an escaped gorilla. More than 60 percent of those polled said the rest of the country has a somewhat “negative” or “very negative” opinion of South Carolina. The poll also asks residents about people in politics.
President Barack Obama has a 47.6 percent approval rating among all South Carolinians. Eighty-five percent of Democrats approves of the president, while nearly the same percentage of Republicans disapproves. Independents are split. Fifty-eight percent of South Carolinians have a favorable view of Michelle Obama. Huffmon attributes this percent to the first lady focusing on issues everyone can agree on regardless of politics, such as her stand on preventing childhood obesity. He also said the approval rating is “excellent.”
“Gandhi wouldn’t get a 100 percent approval rating,” he said. Even though the gubernatorial race in South Carolina has yet to heat up, the poll also questioned respondents about their opinions of the candidates who are running. Huffmon said this type of early polling isn’t meant to predict the outcome of the election. “This is a survey of the battlefield before anyone has moved any of their troops,” he said.
Callers asked South Carolinians what they thought of the candidates running, without adding any context about party affiliation or current positions. “What we found was, without context, no one knew who these people were,” Huffmon said.
Many of the callers are students, and Huffmon said it’s a great program because it gives them hands-on experience in polling research. Some courses in the political science department, such as Scope and Methods of Political Science and Public Opinion, also use the survey research.
He also said the poll brings attention to the university. The poll findings are often mentioned in national media outside of South Carolina. The most recent Winthrop Poll has been featured in the Miami Herald, The State (S.C.) and The Herald-Sun (N.C.).
