To: McLaughlinOnline.com Subscribers and Media
From: John McLaughlin/Jim McLaughlin
Re: National Survey Results
Date: February 18, 2014
National Survey Results – February 2014
- Since our January poll, President Obama’s net approval rating has dropped 6 points from a net 5% disapproval (46%-51%) to a net 11% disapproval (43%-54%).
- On the generic ballot for Congress, Republicans have remained stagnant at 41% while Democrats have lost a point from 42% to 41%. The Republican and Democratic candidates remain in a dead heat at 41% nationwide.
- Only one in three voters(33%) believe that global warming should be a very important part of this year’s elections.
- Three in five voters, 60%, believe that paying higher taxes, fees and prices will not affect the climate. Only 30% of voters would be willing to pay more in taxes, fees and prices to prevent climate change, and that number drops to 16% when asked if they’d be willing to pay over $100 more per year.
- Almost half, 49%, of voters would be more favorable towards President Obama if he approved the Keystone XL Pipeline. While 1 in 5 voters, 20%, would be less favorable towards the President if he continued to block the construction of the pipeline.
- In order to create an estimated 500,000 jobs over the next 10 years, 7 out of 10 voters, 69%, would approve of lowering the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. One in three, 33%, of voters strongly approve of lowering the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. Less than 1 in 5 voters, 18%, disapprove of lowering the corporate tax rate.
- A majority of voters, 56%, agree with the statement, “As President, Barack Obama has massively expanded the welfare state.” A plurality of voters, 1 in 3 (34%) strongly agree with the statement. Only 33% disagree with the statement.
Conclusion
While Republicans and Democrats are even on the generic ballot for Congress at 41% each, Republicans are in a better position to improve upon their ballot share. The majority of voters increasingly disapprove of the job President Obama is doing.
While voters believe the recent weather in their part of the country warrants that climate change should be an important part of this year’s elections, when asked how much they would be willing to pay in higher taxes, fees and increased prices, a supermajority of voters were unwilling to pay anything more at all. Voters would be more favorable towards the President if he approved the Keystone XL pipeline. The case can be made that lowering the corporate tax rate to create jobs could be a popular idea with voters. Finally, voters are under no delusions and do agree that the President has “massively expanded the welfare state.”
Demographic Breakdown
|
Party |
Total |
Age |
Total |
Race |
% |
| Republican |
30% |
18-29 |
19% |
White |
73% |
| Democrat |
36% |
30-40 |
18% |
African American |
10% |
| Independent |
34% |
41-55 |
26% |
Hispanic |
12% |
|
Ideology |
% |
56-65 |
19% |
Asian |
3% |
| Liberal |
32% |
Over 65 |
17% |
Gender |
% |
| Moderate |
35% |
|
|
Male |
47% |
| Conservative |
33% |
Female |
53% |
Methodology: This national survey of 1,000 likely 2014 general election voters was conducted from February 6th to 12th, 2014. All interviews were conducted online; survey invitations were distributed randomly within predetermined geographic units. These units were structured to correlate with actual voter turnout in a nationwide general election. This poll of 1,000 likely general election voters has an accuracy of +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval.
To view this memo in PDF Form please click here.
To view the topline results associated with this survey please click here.
To view the cross-tabulation report associated with this survey please click here.
To view the demographic comparison of this survey with last month’s national survey please click here.
