Election 2010: South Carolina Senate
South Carolina Senate: DeMint (R) 62%, Greene (D) 20%
Tuesday, August 03, 2010 Email to a Friend ShareThis.Advertisement
Mystery man Alvin Greene has been the subject of more media coverage this election cycle than any other political candidate, but right now he trails incumbent Republican Jim DeMint by over 40 points in South Carolina’s U.S. Senate contest.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely South Carolina Voters finds DeMint earning 62% support, while Greene, his Democratic challenger, picks up 20% of the vote. Seven percent (7%) like some other candidate in the race, and 10% remain undecided.
Just after Greene’s surprising win in the South Carolina Democratic Primary in June, DeMint posted a similar 58% to 21% lead.
Fifty-one percent (51%) of South Carolina voters have a Very Unfavorable opinion of Greene, while just four percent (4%) view him Very Favorably. Because of the heavy media coverage of his unorthodox candidacy, Greene is surprisingly well-known for a political newcomer.
DeMint, who is seeking a second six-year term, is viewed Very Favorably by 35% and Very Unfavorably by 16%.
At this juncture, no one expects Greene to beat DeMint, a popular incumbent in a state that trends conservative and Republican. South Carolina is rated Solid GOP in the Rasmussen Reports Senate Balance of Power rankings.
Indicative of Greene’s problems is the finding that just 46% of South Carolina Democrats now support him. By contrast, 96% of Republicans in the state favor DeMint. Voters not affiliated with either major party prefer the Republican by a whopping 70% to 14% margin.
Even African-American voters have questions about Greene, who is black. Just 51% of black voters support Greene, with 32% more undecided. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of whites support DeMint.
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The survey of 500 Likely Voters in South Carolina was conducted on July 29, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Republican Nikki Haley continues to hold a double-digit lead over Democratic State Senator Vincent Sheheen in South Carolina’s race for governor.
Only seven percent (7%) of the state’s voters rate the economy as good, while 59% describe it as poor. Twenty-two percent (22%) say the economy is getting better, but 47% believe it is getting worse.
One-in-three South Carolina voters (33%) say their personal finances are good or excellent. Twenty percent (20%) think their finances are poor. Seventeen percent (17%) say those finances are getting better, but 44% believe they are getting worse.
Sixty-nine percent (69%) say the United States is in a recession.
For the first time since President Obama took office, voters see his policies as equally to blame with those of President George W. Bush for the country’s current economic problems.
Forty percent (40%) in South Carolina now approve of the job the president is doing, while 58% disapprove of his performance. This is higher disapproval than Obama earns nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.
Sixty-one percent (61%) of voters in South Carolina favor repeal of the new national health care bill, and 54% disagree with the U.S. Justice Department decision to challenge Arizona’s new immigration law in federal court.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) favor passage of an immigration law like Arizona’s in South Carolina. Sixty percent (60%) say children born in this country to illegal immigrants should not automatically become U.S. citizens.
Rasmussen Reports has recently surveyed Senate races in Arizona, Alabama, Nevada, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Iowa, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. |
