Poll Watch: Winthrop University South Carolina 2012 Republican Primary Survey

Winthrop University South Carolina 2012 Republican Primary Survey

• Rick Perry 29.8%
• Mitt Romney 26.5% (16.1%)
• Herman Cain 6.8% (1.7%)
• Sarah Palin 6.3% (8.6%)
• Newt Gingrich 4.6% (8.1%)
• Michele Bachmann 4.2% (3.8%)
• Ron Paul 4.2% (2.5%)
• Rick Santorum 2.6% (1.4%)
• Jon Huntsman 1.3% (0.8%)
• Other 0.8% (1.0%)
• Not Sure 12.1% (16.9%)

Among those “definitely” planning to vote in 2012 GOP primary

• Rick Perry 30.5%
• Mitt Romney 27.3%
• Herman Cain 7.7%
• Sarah Palin 5.8%
• Newt Gingrich 5.3%
• Ron Paul 4.2%
• Michele Bachmann 3.5%
• Jon Huntsman 1.6%
• Rick Santorum 1.5%
• Other 0.2%
• Not Sure 11.1%

Regardless of who you currently support, who do you think the eventual 2012 Republican presidential nominee will be?

• Rick Perry 33.4%
• Mitt Romney 28.0% (21.4%)
• Michele Bachmann 4.2% (1.0%)
• Sarah Palin 2.8% (4.1%)
• Ron Paul 2.6% (0.6%)
• Newt Gingrich 1.5% (4.9%)
• Herman Cain 1.2% (0.0%)
• Jon Huntsman 0.3% (0.2%)
• Rick Santorum 0.1% (0.2%)
• Other 0.4% (0.9%)
• Not Sure 25.0% (47.4%)

Which of the following comes closest to your beliefs: It is more important to select a Republican presidential nominee who can beat Barack Obama in 2012. --OR-- It is more important to select a Republican presidential nominee who matches my beliefs.

• Match beliefs 61.3% (56.0%)
• Beat Obama 32.0% (32.4%)

I am going to read you a list of words and phrases which people use to describe political figures. For each word or phrase, please tell me whether it describes Barack Obama Very Well, Well, Not Too Well, or Not Well At All.

The first term is “caring.” Would you say that term describes Barack Obama Very Well, Well, Not Too Well, or Not Well At All?

• Very Well 8.2%
• Well 32.1%
• Not Too Well 32.6%
• Not Well At All 22.9%

The next term is “honest.” Would you say that term describes Barack Obama Very Well, Well, Not Too Well, or Not Well At All?

• Very Well 5.0%
• Well 17.6%
• Not Too Well 36.8%
• Not Well at All 36.0%

The next term is “intelligent.” Would you say that term describes Barack Obama Very Well, Well, Not Too Well, or Not Well At All?

• Very Well 36.1%
• Well 42.2%
• Not Too Well 13.5%
• Not Well at All 8.2%

The next term is “socialist.” Would you say that term describes Barack Obama Very Well, Well, Not Too Well, or Not Well At All?

• Very Well 46.8%
• Well 27.9%
• Not Too Well 12.7%
• Not Well at All 5.5%

Now, thinking about Barack Obama’s religious beliefs… Do you happen to know what Barack Obama’s religion is? Is he Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, agnostic, or something else?

• Christian 33.8%
• Muslim 29.5%
• Agnostic 2.1%
• Atheist 0.8%
• Hindu 0.6%
• Buddhist 0.5%
• Jewish 0.0%
• Something Else/ Multiple 17.5%

Do you think Barack Obama was definitely born in the United States, probably born in the United States, probably born in another country, or definitely born in another country?

• Definitely born in the U.S. 23.9%
• Probably born in the U.S. 29.3%
• Pobably born in another country 23.6%
• Definitely born in another country 12.4%
• Not sure 9.5%

Would you consider yourself a member of the Tea Party Movement?

• Yes 27.8% (28.6%)
• No 67.8% (64.0%)

Regardless of whether you consider yourself a member of the Tea Party movement or not, would you say that you generally agree with the principles of the Tea Party movement or generally disagree with the principles of the Tea Party movement?

• Agree 74.4% (74.0%)
• Disagree 9.7% (7.8%)

Survey of 596 registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents was conducted September 11-18, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 4.01 percentage points.  Results from the poll conducted April 17-23, 2011 are in parentheses.