Georgia's State of the State Poll - 2016

2016 GeorGia ColleGe

State of the State Poll Costas Spirou, Ph.D. and Min Kim, Ph.D. Department of Government and Sociology

Contents 1 3 5 7 11 15 19 23 27 31 32 34 35 37

Introduction Executive Summary Sample Descriptive Statistics Overall Direction and Key Issues Economy Government Education Politics Election Health Care Casino Gambling Minimum Wage Death Penalty Survey Methodology

HISTORIC ANTEBELLUM HOUSE MADISON, GEORGIA

2016 Georgia College

State of the State Poll The Georgia College State of the State Poll (GCSSP) is a statewide general survey of adults, age 18 and over, who are residents of the State of Georgia. The GCSSP survey was conducted for the third time in the winter of 2015 and included a combination of community, governmental, economic and special topical issue questions.

Demographic data — age, location, gender, race, education, political ideology and income — offer additional information. A central aspect of public policymaking is the need for relevant, timely and accurate information. The GCSSP will continue to make a significant contribution to effective planning by engaging the state’s citizenry and increasing the understanding of various issues among policymakers and their constituents. The goals of the GCSSP are to: • Gain a better understanding of resident attitudes and perceptions on key social, economic and political issues; • Educate Georgians about various issues facing the state; • Contribute to a statewide conversation; and • Inform current policy debates in order to improve the socioeconomic well-being of the state’s residents.

We would like to thank the Office of the Provost and the Office of the College of Arts and Sciences Dean for their support of this project.

Kimberly Chambers, a graduate student in the Master of Public Administration program, contributed to data analysis. Jon Scott was invaluable in helping us prepare the 2016 report.

Costas Spirou, Ph.D and Min Kim, Ph.D Department of Government and Sociology Georgia College

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 1

ARTS AND SCIENCES FOUNTAIN GEORGIA COLLEGE

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 2

2016 Georgia College

State of the State Poll executive Summary The Department of Government and Sociology at Georgia College & State University has conducted its third Georgia College State of the State Poll to find out about key issues facing the state and information about our political leaders. The survey was conducted from December 19-29, 2015 by Survey Sampling International (SSI), a leading national firm. The margin of error for the weighted sample is +/- 4.4 percentage points. among the respondents, the key highlights are: • Georgians continue to be optimistic about the direction of the state.

• Education and the economy are the two most important issues facing the state.

• Georgians remain positive about the economy. However, they are still dissatisfied with the economic development efforts, and they report slightly lower rates of satisfaction compared to last year.

• The Federal and County governments continue to be the most trusted levels of government.

• Most Georgians do not feel that they have been impacted by cuts in state programs and services.

• The majority of Georgians are even more dissatisfied with public education and, like last year, they would be willing to invest more money to improve the system.

• Georgians support the prospect of casino gambling in the state.

• Opposition to ObamaCare: Affordable Care Act continues from last year.

• Georgians strongly favor the death penalty for a person convicted of murder.

• Georgians also favor legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage to $12.50 an hour by the year 2020.

• A majority of residents approve of the way Nathan Deal, John Isakson, and David Perdue are handling their government roles. This approval also extends to the performance of the Georgia General Assembly.

• Georgians indicate the most support for the Republican Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. Hillary Clinton receives the highest support from Democratic Presidential candidates.

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 3

GEORGE L. SMITH STATE PARK TWIN CITY, GEORGIA

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 4

Sample Descriptive Statistics The Georgia College State of the State Poll utilized a diverse and representative sample. The participant pool for the survey was made up of 54.0% Whites, 29.2% AfricanAmericans, 12.1% Hispanics, and 4.6% from other races.

Gender was relatively even with 51.4% Women, and 48.6% Men. A large number came from the 35-44 (18.7%), 45-54 (19.0%), and the 55-64 (15.3%) age groups. Overall participants were well educated, with only 11.8% failing to complete at least high school.

race

Gender

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 5

education

age

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 6

overall Direction and Key issues

State’s Direction…

Just over half (50.1%) of Georgians think that the state is moving in the Right Direction, with 29.0% indicating that the state is moving in the Wrong Direction.

The most important issues facing the state are Education (29.0%), the Economy (18.4%), Health Care (10.6%) and Crime (9.6%). Residents from the southern part of the state report the highest concern with the Economy (26.0%), while those in the Atlanta metropolitan area report the highest concern with Education (35.7%). Men (30.1%) and African-Americans (32.9%) report great concern with Education.

Most important issue…

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 7

Most important issue‌

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 8

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 9

THE PERGOLA GEORGIA COLLEGE

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 10

economy a year from now…

economy Georgians believe that a year from now the state’s economy will be in about the Same Condition (46.8%); will be Better (31.3%); will get Worse (19.6%).

Do you think that a year from now the state’s economy will improve, become worse, or remain the same?...

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 11

Over a fourth (26.9%), express Strong Dissatisfaction with the economic development efforts taking place in their area. Just 10.2% express Strong Satisfaction. Among residents of Middle Georgia, 58.8% are either Somewhat Dissatisfied (33.1%) or Very Dissatisfied (25.7%).

economic Development efforts…

economic Development efforts....

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 12

Perception as a Pro-Business State...

Over two-thirds (69.3%) of Georgians consider the state to be pro-business, while 18.6% believe that the state is not supportive enough of the practices of businesses.

BLACK ROCK STATE PARK MOUNTAIN CITY, GEORGIA

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 13

THE CARL VINSON HOUSE GEORGIA COLLEGE

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 14

Government Has your household been impacted by cuts in state programs and services?

Impact of State Cuts...

A signiďŹ cant percentage of African-Americans (46.9%) have had their household impacted by cuts in state programs and services.

Overall, 66.2% report that their household has not been impacted by cuts in state programs and services.

African-Americans (46.9%), Whites (27.9%) and Hispanics (21.0%) report that their households have been impacted by these cuts.

Has your household been impacted by cuts in state programs and services?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 15

Which level of government do you trust the most?

Most Trusted level of Government...

Georgians trust the various levels of government, County (22.6%), Federal (22.4%), State (20.3%) and City (17.9%). The level of trust toward the Federal government is highest among African-Americans (54.0%), while trust of the County government is greatest among Hispanics (45.6%), and Whites report the highest trust level of State government (30.0%).

Which level of government do you trust the most?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 16

Greatest return on Tax investment...

Greatest return on Tax investment...

Georgians report that the Federal government (39.7%) provides them with the greatest return on their tax investment, followed by County/City with 29.8% and State government with 20.2%. African-Americans (62.2%) and Hispanics (53.0%) report the highest satisfaction with the Federal government when it comes to return on their tax investment.

When considering the money you pay in taxes, from which level of government do you think you get the greatest return in beneďŹ ts?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 17

BEGINNING (OR END) OF THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 18

education Public Education Satisfaction... Only 8.4% of Georgians report Strong Satisfaction with public education, with 31.5% indicating Strong Dissatisfaction. About a fourth (25.5%), report being Somewhat Satisfied. Hispanics (43.3%), Whites (32.2%), African-Americans (21.6%), South Georgians (37.0%) and residents of Metro Atlanta (37.8%) report Strong Dissatisfaction with public education.

How satisfied are you with public education?

How satisfied are you with public education?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 19

How satisďŹ ed are you with public education?

Pay More to Improve Public Schools... When asked to consider paying more taxes to provide better education opportunities for children, 56.8% indicate willingness to do so, while 41.0% would not pay more taxes. AfricanAmericans (68.6%) and Hispanics (64.1%) are more willing than Whites (49.8%) to pay more taxes for public education. Residents from the Northern (69.2%) and Middle (69.9%) parts of the state are more willing to pay more to improve public schools compared to residents in the Southern (37.1%) part of the state.

Would you be willing to pay more taxes to provide better educational opportunities for the children in your community?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 20

Would you be willing to pay more taxes to provide better educational opportunities for the children in your community?

Would you be willing to pay more taxes to provide better educational opportunities for the children in your community?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 21

TYBEE ISLAND, GEORGIA

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 22

Politics Governor Nathan Deal Approval...

About half (49.6%) of Georgians approve of the way Nathan Deal is handling his job as governor. His approval ratings are highest among Whites (58.6%), while Hispanics report the highest disapproval ratings at 57.9%.

Do you approve of the way Nathan Deal is handling his job as governor?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Nathan Deal is handling his job as governor?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 23

State Legislature Approval...

Just under half (45.9%) of Georgians approve of the way the general assembly is doing its job, however 36.2% disapprove.

Approval for the state legislature is highest among African-Americans (51.4%) and Hispanics (46.1%).

What about the state legislature in atlanta?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Georgia General assembly is doing its job?

What about the state legislature in atlanta? Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Georgia General assembly is doing its job?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 24

Senator John Isakson Approval...

47.7% of Georgians approve of John Isakson’s performance as US Senator, and 35.9% disapprove.

Approval is highest for Whites (49.7%) and African-Americans (47.6%), and Hispanics indicate a high disapproval of 43.7%.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way John isakson is handling his job as US Senator?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way John isakson is handling his job as US Senator?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 25

Senator David Perdue Approval...

Over half (53.3%) of Georgians approve of the way David Perdue is handling his job as Senator, while about a third (33.4%) disapprove.

Hispanics report the highest disapproval of 57.1%, and Whites (55.9%) and African-Americans (55.4%) indicate the highest levels of support.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way David Perdue is handling his job as US Senator?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way David Perdue is handling his job as US Senator?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 26

election Presidential Primary Republican Nomination...

Georgians would vote for Republican candidates in the prospective presidential primary in the following way: Donald Trump (19.9%), Marco Rubio (15.8%), Ted Cruz (14.5%), Jeb Bush (12.1%), and Ben Carson (12.0%). Support of Donald Trump is higher among Men (26.1%), and Women are more likely to vote for Marco Rubio (17.3%) or Jeb Bush (17.0%). Whites (28.3%) report the highest votes for Donald Trump, and Hispanics (36.8%) for Marco Rubio.

Most of the support for Donald Trump comes from residents in the North (27.3%) and South (32.2%) parts of the state.

Who do you plan to vote for if the presidential primary were held today and the candidates for the republican nomination were:

Who do you plan to vote for if the presidential primary were held today and the candidates for the republican nomination were:

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 27

Who do you plan to vote for if the presidential primary were held today and the candidates for the republican nomination were:

Presidential Primary Democratic Nomination...

Georgians would vote for Democratic candidates in the prospective presidential primary in accordance with the following: Hillary Clinton (32.4%), Bernie Sanders (23.6%) and Martin O’Malley (11.5%). Support of Hillary Clinton is higher among Women (46.7%), and Men are more likely to vote for Bernie Sanders (26.2%). African-Americans (67.7%) report the highest level of support for Hillary Clinton, and Hispanics (48.0%) for Bernie Sanders. Support for Hillary Clinton comes from primarily from the Middle (39.8%) and Metro Atlanta (38.1%) regions. The North (34.9%) part of the state reports the greatest support for Bernie Sanders.

Who do you plan to vote for if the presidential primary were held today and the candidates for the Democratic nomination were:

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 28

Who would you vote for if the presidential primary were held today and the candidates for the Democratic nomination were:

Who would you vote for if the presidential primary were held today and the candidates for the Democratic nomination were:

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 29

AMICALOLA FALLS DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 30

Health Care ObamaCare: Aordable Care Act Approval...

Georgians strongly oppose (61.5%) the ObamaCare: Aordable Care Act with only 36.9% in support. AfricanAmericans (67.6 %) support the passage of the health care law, while Whites (74.1%) and Hispanics (83.9%) are staunchly opposed.

Do you support or oppose the health care law passed by Barack obama and Congress in 2010?

Do you support or oppose the health care law passed

by Barack obama and Congress in 2010?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 31

Casino Gambling Legalizing Casino Gambling...

A majority of Georgians support (51.3%) casino gambling in the state, and a smaller percentage oppose it (42.2%). Support is highest from residents in the North (58.6%) and Middle (56.8%) parts of the state, and opposition comes primarily from residents in the South (50.2%). Hispanics (56.7%) report a high level of support, while a large percentage of African-Americans (45.9%) oppose casinos in Georgia.

Do you support or oppose casino gambling in Georgia?

Do you support or oppose casino gambling in Georgia?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 32

Do you support or oppose casino gambling in Georgia?

ENNIS HALL GEORGIA COLLEGE

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 33

Minimum Wage Increasing the Minimum Wage...

When asked about raising the federal minimum wage to $12.50 per hour by the year 2020, 64.5% of Georgians oppose, and 32.0% expressed support of this eort.

Extremely strong support is seen among African-Americans with 84.6% in favor, and opposition is relatively high with Whites (40.8%) and Hispanics (41.1%).

Do you favor or oppose raising the federal minimum wage to $12.50 per hour by the year 2020?

Do you favor or oppose raising the federal minimum wage to $12.50 per hour by the year 2020?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 34

Death Penalty Deciding on the Death Penalty...

The majority of Georgians are in favor of the death penalty for a person convicted of murder. 57.8% support such policies and only 35.4% oppose it. Whites (69.7%) report the most support, and African-Americans (60.5%) the highest opposition. Men are more likely to favor (61.7%) the death penalty than Women (54.1%).

Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for a person convicted of murder?

Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for a person convicted of murder?

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 35

Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for a person convicted of murder?

PARKS MEMORIAL GEORGIA COLLEGE

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 36

Survey Methodology The 2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll was a telephone survey of randomly selected adults in the state of Georgia. Five hundred (500) Georgia adults were interviewed by landline and cellular telephone between December 19 and December 29, 2015. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 4.4%. This survey was conducted through the use of Random Digit Dialing (RDD). A sample of households in the area was selected via random digit dialing.

The random sample used in the 2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll was provided by Survey Sampling International (SSI). SSI screens each selected telephone number to eliminate non-working numbers, disconnected numbers, and business numbers to improve the efficiency of the sample, thus reducing the amount of time interviewers spend calling non-usable numbers. Each of these randomly generated telephone numbers is contacted by an SSI interviewer. This selection process ensures that every adult (18 years of age or older) in the household has an equally likely chance of being included in the survey. Interviews were completed with 500 randomly selected adults in Georgia from a sample of 61,685 randomly selected telephone numbers.

The data has been weighted to account for known biases of telephone surveys. The results presented here have been weighted to reflect the current population demographics as reflected in the most recent available Census data. The data in the 2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll are weighted by the number of adults to equalize the chances that any one adult would be selected for inclusion.

The data was also weighted by respondent's sex, age and race.

In addition to providing results for the state as a whole, some findings also are broken down by the four major regions of the state: North, Middle, South and Atlanta metropolitan area.

The map to the left illustrates the counties in each region.

2016 Georgia College State of the State Poll | 37

2016 GEORGIA COllEGE

State of the State Poll

For more information about Georgia College State of the State Poll (GCSSP) please contact: Costas Spirou, Ph.D. Professor and Chair Department of Government and Sociology Georgia College Milledgeville, GA 31061 478-445-4562 costas.spirou@gcsu.edu

University Printing Services • 2/2016