New polling data from Gallup depict North Carolina voters as trending Republican and bearish on the economy, President Obama and state government. The data, released Wednesday, confirm what most N.C. political observers have known for some time: The crucial U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan and Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis could boil down to who's more unpopular: Obama or the state legislature.
Gallup's surveys show that Democrats have lost about all of the 10-point advantage they had in North Carolina in 2008, when Obama and Hagan were swept into office. That year, 49 percent of respondents described themselves as Democrat or leaning Democrat, while 39 percent described themselves as Republican. Today, that Democratic advantage has vanished, Gallup finds: The state now is basically evenly divided, 42-41 in favor of Democrats.
Gallup says Obama has a 41 percent approval rating in the state, just below the national average of 43 percent. Just 51 percent of respondents have confidence in state government, which is significantly lower than the national average of 58 percent. And state residents' confidence in the economy is dramatically lower than that of residents in other states (+8 versus +23). Only three of 10 North Carolinians think it is a good time to find a job in their local area.
Only 34 percent said North Carolina is one of the best states to live in, compared with 46 percent who say that nationally.
So does this grumpy group blame Obama and Congress or the all-Republican legislature and governor in Raleigh? That could be the determining factor in the Senate race, Gallup says, echoing what N.C. pundits have said all along.
-- Taylor Batten
We are seeing widespread discontent because most people are experiencing what economists call 'the Red Queen Effect.'
ReplyDeleteNamed after the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland who lived in a world where the entire landscape moved - with the Red Queen Effect you have to run faster and faster just to stay in the same place.
For me it is not about dissatisfaction with either Obama or the state's leadership. It is about TOTAL DISGUST with all things local...bureaucrats and elected officials.
ReplyDeleteMatt M, great post. I have to remember that. And I think you are right.
ReplyDeleteTaylor Batten, one of three left-wing Observer editors who find it so convenient to publish their liberal ideology in a politically and socially conservative state. Now THAT'S something to be grumpy about!
ReplyDeleteMark Ranier,
ReplyDeleteIts amazing how they don't even see their own shortfalls. McClatchy, the parent company of the Observer, had a stock price of $79.60 in 2006. Today it hovers around $4.50, which is great since it bottomed out at $1.12 in 2011.
The Observer has seen its subscription base fall 75% and its advertising revenue fall 80% in the last 10 years. If your business lost 80% of its income, would you look at yourself and ask what could I do differently? Not the Observer, its full steam ahead with an ultra liberal agenda that has alienated its own audience. So much so that they have let in droves. They were making up for that with the online edition, but with the new firewall, page views are down 60%, I'm sure online advertisers are thrilled with that!
Hundred of people have been laid off and the paper is run by a staff size that used to run a small town gazette. But they can't see the forest through the trees and will continue to alienate their audience. They even block Facebook posts that don't agree with their agenda. Liberalism at its finest!