Poll Watch: PPP (D) South Carolina 2012 Republican Primary Survey

PPP (D) South Carolina 2012 GOP Primary Poll

• Mitt Romney 29% [30%] (16%) {30%}
• Newt Gingrich 24% [23%] (8%) {15%}
• Ron Paul 15% [9%] (5%) {10%}
• Rick Santorum 14% [19%] (4%)
• Rick Perry 6% [5%] (36%)
• Jon Huntsman 5% [4%] (2%) {2%}
• Buddy Roemer 1% [1%]
• Someone else/Not sure 6% [9%] (7%) {11%}

Among Republicans (80%)

• Mitt Romney 31% [31%]
• Newt Gingrich 28% [24%]
• Rick Santorum 16% [20%]
• Ron Paul 12% [7%]
• Rick Perry 6% [6%]
• Jon Huntsman 2% [2%]
• Buddy Roemer 0% [1%]
• Someone else/Not sure 5% [9%]

Among Independents (17%)

• Ron Paul 24% [16%]
  
• Mitt Romney 21% [27%]
• Jon Huntsman 17% [12%]
• Rick Santorum 11% [12%]
• Newt Gingrich 10% [20%]
• Rick Perry 4% [2%]
• Buddy Roemer 2% [1%]
• Someone else/Not sure 12% [10%]

Very Conservative (40%)

• Newt Gingrich 28% [29%]
• Rick Santorum 23% [24%]
• Mitt Romney 22% [21%]
• Ron Paul 10% [8%]
• Rick Perry 8% [8%]
• Jon Huntsman 2% [1%]
• Buddy Roemer 1% [1%]
• Someone else/Not sure 6% [9%]

Somewhat Conservative (37%)

• Mitt Romney 33% [37%]
• Newt Gingrich 27% [20%]
• Ron Paul 15% [9%]
• Rick Santorum 11% [18%]
• Rick Perry 5% [4%]
• Jon Huntsman 3% [2%]
• Buddy Roemer 0% [1%]
• Someone else/Not sure 6% [9%]

Moderate (18%)

• Mitt Romney 37% [38%]
• Ron Paul 20% [9%]
• Newt Gingrich 15% [13%]
• Jon Huntsman 13% [14%]
• Rick Santorum 5% [9%]
• Rick Perry 4% [3%]
• Buddy Roemer 2% [3%]
• Someone else/Not sure 6% [11%]

Among Men (54%)

• Newt Gingrich 27% [24%]
  
• Mitt Romney 24% [29%]
• Ron Paul 17% [10%]
• Rick Santorum 14% [19%]
• Rick Perry 6% [6%]
• Jon Huntsman 5% [4%]
• Buddy Roemer 1% [1%]
• Someone else/Not sure 5% [8%]

Among Women (46%)

• Mitt Romney 35% [30%]
• Newt Gingrich 21% [22%]
• Rick Santorum 14% [19%]
• Ron Paul 12% [8%]
• Rick Perry 6% [5%]
• Jon Huntsman 5% [4%]
• Buddy Roemer 0% [1%]
• Someone else/Not sure 7% [11%]

Upstate (32%)

• Newt Gingrich 28% [24%]
  
• Mitt Romney 25% [29%]
• Ron Paul 20% [11%]
• Rick Santorum 13% [18%]
• Rick Perry 7% [3%]
• Jon Huntsman 4% [3%]
• Buddy Roemer 0% [2%]
• Someone else/Not sure 4% [10%]

Midlands (33%)

• Mitt Romney 28% [31%]
• Newt Gingrich 26% [25%]
• Rick Santorum 17% [20%]
• Ron Paul 12% [4%]
• Jon Huntsman 7% [5%]
• Rick Perry 5% [5%]
• Buddy Roemer 1% [1%]
• Someone else/Not sure 5% [9%]

Low Country (35%)

• Mitt Romney 34% [29%]
• Newt Gingrich 19% [20%]
• Rick Santorum 13% [19%]
• Ron Paul 13% [11%]
• Rick Perry 6% [8%]
• Jon Huntsman 5% [3%]
• Buddy Roemer 1% [2%]
• Someone else/Not sure 9% [9%]

Would you say you are strongly committed to that candidate, or might you end up supporting someone else?

• Strongly committed to that candidate 65% [59%]
• Might end up supporting someone else 35% [41%]

Second Choice

• Newt Gingrich 20% [14%]
• Rick Santorum 17% [21%]
• Mitt Romney 17% [16%]
• Rick Perry 13% [10%]
• Ron Paul 9% [7%]
• Jon Huntsman 7% [5%]
• Buddy Roemer 1% [1%]
• Someone else/Not sure 16% [26%]

Which of the Republican candidates do you trust the most on economic issues?

• Mitt Romney 35%
• Newt Gingrich 25%
• Ron Paul 16%
• Rick Santorum 10%
• Jon Huntsman 5%
• Rick Perry 5%
• Buddy Roemer 0%
• Someone else/Not sure 5%

Which of the Republican candidates do you trust the most on foreign policy issues?

• Newt Gingrich 41%
• Mitt Romney 22%
• Ron Paul 12%
• Rick Santorum 8%
• Jon Huntsman 7%
• Rick Perry 6%
• Buddy Roemer 1%
• Someone else/Not sure 5%

Which of the Republican candidates do you trust the most on social issues like abortion and gay marriage?

• Rick Santorum 23%
• Mitt Romney 21%
• Newt Gingrich 19%
• Ron Paul 14%
• Rick Perry 9%
• Jon Huntsman 5%
• Buddy Roemer 0%
• Someone else/Not sure 9%

Who do you think has run the strongest campaign in South Carolina?

• Mitt Romney 23%
• Newt Gingrich 18%
• Ron Paul 10%
• Rick Perry 8%
• Rick Santorum 6%
• Jon Huntsman 2%
• Buddy Roemer 1%
• Someone else/Not sure 31%

Who do you think will win the Republican nomination for President?

• Mitt Romney 46%
• Newt Gingrich 16%
• Ron Paul 7%
• Rick Santorum 6%
• Rick Perry 3%
• Jon Huntsman 2%
• Buddy Roemer 1%
• Someone else/Not sure 20%

Favorable / Unfavorable {Net}

• Mitt Romney 57% [60%] (52%) {56%} [60%] / 33% [29%] (32%) {27%} [22%] {+24%}
• Rick Santorum 53% [63%] (34%) {31%} [25%] / 30% [21%] (19%) {16%} [7%] {+23%}
• Newt Gingrich 51% [49%] (42%) {37%} [54%] / 37% [39%] (40%) {44%} [25%] {+14%}
• Rick Perry 44% [42%] (65%) {24%} / 44% [43%] (15%) {11%} {0%}
• Jon Huntsman 34% [28%] (11%) {10%} [9%] / 40% [41%] (26%) {20%} [4%] {-6%}
• Ron Paul 38% [33%] (35%) {38%} [47%] / 52% [54%] (35%) {31%} [19%] {-14%}

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Mitt Romney’s record in business?

• Favorable 58%
• Unfavorable 27%
• Not sure 15%

Generally speaking, would you like the Republican nominee for President to be Mitt Romney or someone else?

• Mitt Romney 34%
• Someone else 58%
• Not sure 8%

If the Republican candidates for President were just Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, who would you vote for?

• Mitt Romney 48% [45%]
• Rick Santorum 39% [40%]
• Not sure 13% [15%]

If the Republican candidates for President were just Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, who would you vote for?

• Mitt Romney 48% [49%]
• Newt Gingrich 37% [35%]
• Not sure 15% [16%]

If the Republican candidates for President were just Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, who would you vote for?

• Mitt Romney 56% [57%]
• Rick Perry 31% [29%]
• Not sure 12% [15%]

If the Republican candidates for President were just Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, who would you vote for?

• Mitt Romney 63% [67%]
• Ron Paul 28% [23%]
• Not sure 9% [10%]

Would you be willing or unwilling to vote for a candidate who had supported an individual mandate for health care at the state level, or are you not sure?

• Willing 25%
• Unwilling 34%
• Not sure 41%

Are you comfortable with the idea of a Mormon being President, or not?

• Comfortable 63% [57%]
• Not comfortable 23% [18%]
• Not sure 14% [25%]

Among Evangelicals

• Comfortable 48% [48%]
• Not comfortable 52% [52%]

Among Non-Evangelicals

• Comfortable 73% [69%]
• Not comfortable 27% [31%]

Do you think that interracial marriage should be legal or illegal?

• Legal 66%
• Illegal 20%
• Not sure 14%

What is more important to you when deciding who to vote for: a candidate’s ability to beat Barack Obama in the general election, or their positions on the issues?

• More concerned about a candidate’s ability to beat Barack Obama 50%
• Their positions on the issues 37%

Do you consider yourself to be a member of the Tea Party?

• Yes 30% [31%]
• No 57% [57%]

Are you an Evangelical Christian, or not?

• Are 56% [57%]
• Are not 44% [43%]

Survey of 803 likely South Carolina Republican primary voters was conducted January 11-13, 2012. The margin of error is +/- 3.5 percentage points. Party ID breakdown: 80% [82%] (80%) {78%} [81%] Republican; 17% [14%] (18%) {19%} [18%] Independent/Other; 3% [3%] (1%) {3%} [0%] Democrat. Political ideology: 40% [41%] (40%) {41%} Very conservative; 37% [38%] (39%) {36%} Somewhat conservative; 18% [15%] (16%) {17%} Moderate; 2% [4%] (4%) {3%} Somewhat liberal; 2% [3%] (1%) {3%} Very liberal.  Results from the poll conducted January 5-7, 2012 are in square brackets.  Results from the poll conducted August 25-28, 2011 are in parentheses.  Results from the poll conducted June 2-5, 2011 are in curly brackets.  Results from the poll conducted January 28-30, 2011 are in square brackets.