By Karen Floyd, SC GOP Chairman
The South Carolina Republican Party recently commissioned a scientific survey of 1,000 likely South Carolina voters to determine how the Republican Party, its philosophy and candidates are perceived by the electorate. This confidential briefing is being sent to you and other key leaders around the State to keep you well-informed on issues and voter trends that have an impact on elections.
As you know, some observers have raised the concern that the recent controversy surrounding Governor Mark Sanford may have damaged the image of the Republican Party and our candidates. I am very pleased to report those concerns are completely unfounded.
Also, when asked which major party, Republican or Democrat, best reflects their views and values, 55% of South Carolina’s voters chose the Republican Party. Only 35% said the Democratic Party best reflected their views and values. Party preference numbers at that level are in fact higher for Republicans than they have been in past polling.
Therefore, South Carolina remains a strong Republican State. In fact, our Party is stronger today than ever, as other questions in the survey confirmed.
For example, we also learned that Barck Obama’s job approval rating in South Carolina is only 36%, which is a full 10% lower than the national average. And when our State’s voters were asked whether they favored or opposed President Obama’s plan for universal health care, 61% said they were opposed. Only 30% were in favor of the Democrats’ national health care reform schemes.
Looking ahead to the 2010 Governor’s race, 54% said they were most likely to vote for the Republican candidate. Only 34% said they were most likely to vote for the Democrat. This gives our Party a 20% advantage even before the nominees are selected.
Finally, when South Carolina voters were asked whether they consider themselves to be conservative or liberal, 60% said conservative. Only 23% said they were liberal.
This is all good news indeed for the South Carolina Republican Party as we enter the 2010 election cycle. A strong majority of our State’s voters are conservative Republicans who overwhelmingly reject President Obama’s radical agenda. Our task now is to build on this early enthusiasm and organize a major historic victory for all of our candidates in 2010.
The survey was conducted the last week of September 2009 by the polling group First Impression, Inc. With a sample of 1,000 voters, the margin of error is plus (or minus) 3.2%
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