Poll: S.C. Favors Trump, Senators Not As Popular
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Election day is less than five weeks away, and a new poll found more than half of likely voters in South Carolina would vote for Donald Trump.
The Withrop Poll Found 52 percent would vote for Trump, 42 percent Kamala Harris, four percent are undecided and two percent will choose some other candidate. Results from the survey are of 1068 likely South Carolinian voters has a Margin of Error of +/- 3 percent.
In the 2020 Presidential Election in South Carolina, Donald Trump defeated Joe Biden by 11.68 percent.
The following are general population poll of survey are of 1829 South Carolinians, with a margin of error of +/-2.3 percent. results from the survey found:
51 percent think Trump’s conviction was politically motivated.
57 percent believe Trump committed all or some of the crimes for which he was convicted.
42 percent sympathize more with the Israelis regarding the ongoing situation in the Middle East; 17 percent sympathize more with the Palestinians; 35 percent are not sure.
72 percent think the South is better off as part of the US than as a separate country.
56 percent believe the Civil War was more about slavery than it was about states’ rights or any other issue.
47 percent think it is very or somewhat likely that the United States will undergo another civil war in the near future. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe there will be another civil war soon.
South Carolinians view election security, illegal immigration, opioid addition, and the country turning its back on God as serious problems in America. Difficulty voting is not seen as a serious problem.
Approval ratings: President Joe Biden, 31 percent; Governor Henry McMaster, 45 percent; Senator Lindsey Graham, 36 percent; Senator Tim Scott, 44 percent.
The survey was conducted via online and phone (with live callers – no IVR) between September 21-29,2024. Data weighted by sex, race, age, and education.
Other results from the poll:
Approval Ratings
Fifty-eight percent of South Carolinians disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as President of the United States. Among Republicans, disapproval is close to 90 percent; 8 percent approve and 3 percent are not sure. Among Democrats, 72 percent approve, 15 percent disapprove, and 10 percent are not sure.
“Not surprisingly Joe Biden is not particularly popular in South Carolina,” said Winthrop Poll Director, Dr. Scott Huffmon, “Biden’s South Carolina approval rates are ten points lower than his national approval ratings.” (Biden’s national approval rate was 41.4 percent as of September 27 according to FiveThirtyEight.com.)
When it comes to Henry McMaster, 45 percent of South Carolinians approve of the way he is handling his job as Governor of South Carolina. Close to a quarter are unsure of how he is handling his job, but of those who are sure, 59 percent approve while 41 percent disapprove. Nearly three-quarters of Republicans (73 percent) approve of Henry McMaster’s job as Governor compared to a quarter of Democrats (23 percent). Over half of Democrats (56 percent) disapprove of his job while an equal proportion of Democrats and Republicans are not sure.
Regarding the United States Senators for South Carolina, less than half of South Carolinians approve of the ways Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott are handling their jobs. Forty-four percent approve of Tim Scott’s job while 36 percent approve of Lindsey Graham’s job. More Republicans and Democrats approve of Scott’s job than they do Graham’s.
Trump's Conviction
Respondents were asked if Donald Trump’s recent conviction related to payments described by the media as “hush money” was politically motivated or not. Half of respondents – including 75 percent of Republicans and 22 percent of Democrats – said this conviction was politically motivated. Fourteen percent of Republicans said the conviction was not politically motivated while 65 percent of Democrats said the same.
When asked if they believe Donald Trump committed some or all of the crimes – the 34 felonies related to the “hush money” payments – for which he was convicted, 57 percent of all respondents said yes while 23 percent said no. Republicans are more divided over the issue of whether he actually committed some or all of these crimes, while Democrats are far surer that he did.
Confederate Symbols
When asked about what to do with monuments or memorials to Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War, 33 percent of South Carolinians say leave them just as they are, 32 percent say leave them but add a plaque or marker for context and historical interpretation, 21 percent say move them to a museum, and 6 percent say remove them completely. This same trend exists for white South Carolinians. Among Black South Carolinians, most (33 percent) say to move them to a museum, followed by 24 percent who say leave them but add a plaque or marker for historical interpretation, 14 percent who say to remove them completely, and 13 percent who say to leave them just as they are.
When it comes to the Confederate battle flag, 39 percent of South Carolinians say it is more a symbol of Southern pride than of racial conflict. Twenty-six percent say the flag is more a symbol of racial conflict, and 24 percent say it’s equally a symbol of racial conflict and Southern pride. Half of white South Carolinians (51 percent) see the flag as more a symbol of Southern pride while nearly half of Black South Carolinians (45 percent) say it’s more about racial conflict.
Israel and Palestine
When thinking about the ongoing situation in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine, 42 percent of South Carolinians sympathize more with the Israelis than with the Palestinians. Seventeen percent sympathize more with the Palestinians and 35 percent are not sure who they sympathize more with. A majority of Republicans (59 percent) sympathize more with the Israelis while most Democrats (36 percent) are unsure; of those Democrats who are sure, 29 percent sympathize more with the Israelis and 28 percent sympathize more with the Palestinians.
Over half (54 percent) of South Carolinians think that supporting Israel is in the national interest of the United States. A majority of both Republicans and Democrats agree.
Problems in America
Respondents were asked how serious they believe different issues to be in America on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is “not a problem” and 10 is “extremely serious problem.” Responses are reported in means.
Regarding the issue of election security, the mean for all respondents is 6.8. Republicans are more likely to believe this is a serious problem in America at a mean of 7.9 compared to Democrats with a mean of 5.7.
On the issue of illegal immigration, the mean for all respondents is 7.7. The mean for Republicans is 9.0, indicating this issue being an extremely serious issue for most within this group. Among Democrats, the mean score is 6.4 - almost a 3-point difference from Republicans.
Difficulty voting is not a serious issue among respondents with the mean for this issue at 3.5. Republicans and Democrats both rated this issue more towards the “not a problem” end of the scale.
When it comes to opioid addiction, all respondents indicated this being a more serious problem with a mean of 8.3. Republicans and Democrats reported nearly even responses regarding this issue.
Respondents see the country turning its back on God as a serious problem with a mean of 7.2. Republicans were more likely to lean on the side of “extremely serious problem” than were Democrats.
God and Country
Forty-five percent of South Carolinians think the federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation. Forty-one percent disagree. A majority of Republicans (61 percent) would like the US declared a Christian nation and most Democrats (47 percent) disagree with declaring the US a Christian nation.
When asked whether they agree or disagree with America holding a special place in God’s plan, a majority – including majorities within each party – agreed.
Civil War
When asked whether they recall which American state was the first to secede from the Union at the start of the Civil War, 62 percent correctly answered South Carolina. About a quarter of respondents (27 percent) said another state while 11 percent did not know.
Nearly three-quarters of South Carolinians (72 percent) believe the South is better off as part of the United States than it would be as a separate country. Republicans and Democrats were in agreement.
Given that South Carolina receives more federal dollars per person than we send to the federal government per person, remaining part of the United States seems to currently be in our fiscal interest.”
[See: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/07/states-federal-benefits/]
Forty-five percent of South Carolinians say that it is important to remember our history, but that the Civil War doesn’t mean much to them personally. Forty-eight percent disagree. Republicans and Democrats did not differ greatly in their responses.
A majority of South Carolinians (56 percent) think the Civil War was more about slavery than it was about states’ rights or any other issue. Democrats are much more likely to agree with this statement than are Republicans. Among Democrats, 77 percent say the Civil War was more about slavery compared to 45 percent of Republicans. Republicans were evenly split in their opinions over whether the Civil War was more about slavery than states’ rights.