March 27, 2013 - Virginia Voters Know Little About Gov Candidates, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Cuccinelli More Experienced, McAuliffe Less Ideological Word format PDF format Virginia State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is viewed as having better experience while voters see Terry McAuliffe as slightly less ideological, but neither is well-known to voters who are divided on who should be the next governor, with 40 percent for Republican Cuccinelli and 38 percent for Democrat McAuliffe according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. The decision by Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling that he would not run for governor as an independent has had no effect on the Cuccinelli-McAuliffe matchup as the current dead heat is the same as two previous surveys this year, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. For 37 percent of Virginia voters, the economy is the most important issue in the governor's race, while 19 percent list education, 15 percent cite taxes and 12 percent list the state budget. "Neither candidate for governor is that well known to voters although Cuccinelli has a small edge in that department," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Because of their relatively low profiles at this point, the horse race numbers pretty much reflect a generic Democratic-Republican race. "The Cuccinelli-McAuliffe race features the kind of gender gap we are seeing in many races. The Democrat wins women 43 - 33 percent, while the Republican carries men 49 - 33 percent. Voters say 44 - 22 percent that Cuccinelli, the attorney general and former state legislator, has the right kind of experience to be governor. Businessman McAuliffe, who has never held public office although he was Democratic National Chairman, has the right experience voters say 28 - 23 percent. Virginia voters still know little about either candidate. Cuccinelli gets a 30 - 24 percent favorability rating, with 44 percent who don't know enough about him to form an opinion. McAuliffe has a 20 - 16 percent favorability, with 63 percent who don't know enough about him. Cuccinelli's political philosophy is "about right," 32 percent of Virginia voters say, while 29 percent say he is too conservative and 5 percent say he is too liberal, while 33 percent of voters do not have an opinion. McAuliffe's philosophy is "about right," 29 percent of voters say, while 21 percent say he is too liberal and 4 percent say he is too conservative, while 45 percent of voters do not have an opinion. "At this point in the race, the number of voters who see Cuccinelli as 'too conservative' is higher than the number who sees McAuliffe as 'too liberal.' But the general public does not see the GOP candidate as a far right kind of guy as some both inside and outside the Republican Party have suggested. It would not be surprising to see McAuliffe try to pin the ideologue label on Cuccinelli but as of now the label does not stick," said Brown. Gov. Bob McDonnell gets a static 53 - 26 percent job approval rating, compared to his 53 - 28 percent in Quinnipiac University's February 20 survey. The State Legislature has a split 40 - 40 percent job approval, compared to a negative 38 - 46 percent rating last month. "While the governor is treading water, the legislature seems to have benefitted from the recently concluded legislative session in the eyes of the public," said Brown. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner gets a 56 - 26 percent approval rating, with 47 - 33 percent for first-term Sen. Tim Kaine. Voters approve 45 - 27 percent of the job Cuccinelli is doing and give Lt. Gov. Bolling a 37 - 15 percent score. From March 20 - 25, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,098 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more information or RSS feed, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling, or call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 1. If the election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were Terry McAuliffe the Democrat and Ken Cuccinelli the Republican, for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk McAuliffe 38% 3% 86% 29% 33% 43% 30% 70% Cuccinelli 40 83 2 37 49 33 49 7 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 3 - 3 3 2 2 3 DK/NA 18 10 10 29 14 21 16 18 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ McAuliffe 43% 35% 39% 38% 43% 38% 38% 39% Cuccinelli 42 39 33 44 47 33 45 40 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 3 3 2 1 4 2 2 DK/NA 12 21 23 15 8 24 14 17 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh McAuliffe 43% 37% 40% 29% Cuccinelli 39 37 39 47 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 - 1 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 2 3 3 DK/NA 15 23 16 19 TREND: If the election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were Terry McAuliffe the Democrat and Ken Cuccinelli the Republican, for whom would you vote? Mar 27 Feb 20 Jan 09 Nov 14 2013 2013 2013 2012 McAuliffe 38 38 40 41 Cuccinelli 40 38 39 37 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 2 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 2 1 1 DK/NA 18 21 18 21 2. Is your opinion of Terry McAuliffe favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 20% 5% 40% 15% 21% 19% 19% 27% Unfavorable 16 30 3 13 23 10 19 4 Hvn't hrd enough 63 64 56 70 55 70 61 67 REFUSED 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 TREND: Is your opinion of Terry McAuliffe favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Mar 27 Feb 20 Jan 09 Nov 14 2013 2013 2013 2012 Favorable 20 23 23 17 Unfavorable 16 16 16 13 Hvn't hrd enough 63 60 61 68 REFUSED 1 1 1 1 3. Is your opinion of Ken Cuccinelli favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 30% 58% 4% 29% 38% 23% 35% 11% Unfavorable 24 6 41 26 23 24 23 26 Hvn't hrd enough 44 35 53 42 38 49 40 59 REFUSED 2 1 2 3 2 3 2 3 TREND: Is your opinion of Ken Cuccinelli favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Mar 27 Feb 20 Jan 09 Nov 14 2013 2013 2013 2012 Favorable 30 30 33 29 Unfavorable 24 25 25 24 Hvn't hrd enough 44 44 41 45 REFUSED 2 1 2 2 4. Is your opinion of Bob McDonnell favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 42% 67% 20% 44% 47% 37% 46% 26% Unfavorable 22 11 34 19 23 21 21 24 Hvn't hrd enough 33 20 41 33 28 37 30 46 REFUSED 4 2 4 4 3 5 3 4 TREND: Is your opinion of Bob McDonnell favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Mar 27 Feb 20 Jan 09 Nov 15 Jun 07 2013 2013 2013 2012 2012 Favorable 42 41 45 42 39 Unfavorable 22 24 23 22 25 Hvn't hrd enough 33 33 30 34 35 REFUSED 4 3 2 2 2 5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bob McDonnell is handling his job as Governor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 53% 73% 33% 56% 61% 46% 56% 43% Disapprove 26 14 42 22 25 27 24 31 DK/NA 21 13 25 21 14 27 20 26 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Approve 56% 51% 47% 55% 61% 41% 56% 58% Disapprove 29 24 26 26 28 25 31 24 DK/NA 16 24 27 20 10 34 13 18 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Approve 55% 49% 53% 54% Disapprove 26 25 28 24 DK/NA 19 26 19 22 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bob McDonnell is handling his job as Governor? (*Low also 53% Mar 2012, Jun 2012, Nov 2012, Feb 2013) APPROVE....... High Low Mar 27 Feb 20 Jan 09 Nov 15 Jul 18 Oct 12 Mar 27 2013 2013 2013 2012 2012 2011 2013* Approve 53 53 54 53 55 62 53 Disapprove 26 28 27 26 29 22 26 DK/NA 21 19 19 20 17 16 21 6. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 40% 55% 30% 37% 47% 34% 41% 35% Disapprove 40 24 50 42 37 42 37 49 DK/NA 20 22 20 20 16 24 22 16 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Approve 42% 38% 39% 39% 46% 36% 40% 43% Disapprove 41 39 40 41 43 35 45 38 DK/NA 16 23 22 20 12 28 15 19 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Approve 42% 34% 40% 42% Disapprove 36 42 41 41 DK/NA 22 24 19 17 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? (*High also 48% Jun 2011, **Low also 38% Mar 2012) APPROVE....... High Low Mar 27 Feb 20 Jan 09 Nov 15 Jul 18 Sep 14 Feb 20 2013 2013 2013 2012 2012 2011* 2013** Approve 40 38 43 44 41 48 38 Disapprove 40 46 39 35 41 34 46 DK/NA 20 16 19 21 18 18 16 7. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Mark Warner is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 56% 39% 75% 56% 54% 57% 53% 69% Disapprove 26 42 8 25 32 21 30 15 DK/NA 18 19 17 18 14 21 17 16 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Approve 62% 52% 57% 57% 58% 51% 59% 56% Disapprove 25 27 24 28 28 21 28 28 DK/NA 13 21 19 16 14 28 13 16 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Approve 60% 45% 59% 56% Disapprove 23 29 25 29 DK/NA 16 26 16 15 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Mark Warner is handling his job as United States Senator? (*High also 64% Sep 2011) APPROVE....... High Low Mar 27 Feb 21 Jan 09 Nov 14 Jul 18 Feb 09 Mar 27 2013 2013 2013 2012 2012 2012* 2013 Approve 56 58 59 60 57 64 56 Disapprove 26 28 27 25 24 22 26 DK/NA 18 14 13 16 19 14 18 8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tim Kaine is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 47% 23% 81% 44% 45% 50% 40% 73% Disapprove 33 57 6 32 39 28 39 14 DK/NA 20 21 13 24 16 23 21 13 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Approve 54% 43% 48% 47% 52% 49% 53% 45% Disapprove 31 34 31 35 35 25 34 37 DK/NA 15 22 21 18 13 26 14 19 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Approve 50% 46% 50% 40% Disapprove 31 31 34 36 DK/NA 18 23 16 24 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tim Kaine is handling his job as United States Senator? Mar 27 Feb 21 Jan 09 2013 2013 2013 Approve 47 50 48 Disapprove 33 33 30 DK/NA 20 17 22 10. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Bolling is handling his job as Lieutenant Governor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 37% 42% 39% 33% 40% 34% 37% 37% Disapprove 15 13 14 19 19 12 15 15 DK/NA 48 45 47 49 41 53 48 48 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Approve 37% 37% 37% 40% 36% 34% 38% 39% Disapprove 15 16 15 15 16 18 16 13 DK/NA 48 48 48 45 48 48 45 48 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Approve 31% 37% 37% 44% Disapprove 12 16 19 13 DK/NA 56 47 44 44 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Bolling is handling his job as Lieutenant Governor? (*Low also 35% Oct 2011) APPROVE....... High Low Mar 27 Feb 20 Jan 09 Nov 14 Jul 18 Jan 09 Dec 22 2013 2013 2013 2012 2012 2013 2011* Approve 37 36 40 38 36 40 35 Disapprove 15 18 16 15 19 16 18 DK/NA 48 45 44 47 45 44 46 11. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ken Cuccinelli is handling his job as Virginia Attorney General? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 45% 68% 25% 44% 53% 38% 47% 32% Disapprove 27 9 45 27 27 28 27 32 DK/NA 28 23 30 29 20 34 26 36 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Approve 44% 46% 42% 48% 46% 42% 47% 47% Disapprove 36 22 25 26 34 18 30 31 DK/NA 20 32 33 26 20 40 23 23 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Approve 44% 44% 47% 44% Disapprove 31 24 28 24 DK/NA 25 31 25 32 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ken Cuccinelli is handling his job as Virginia Attorney General? APPROVE....... High Low Mar 27 Feb 20 Jan 09 Nov 14 Jul 18 Jun 29 Feb 20 2013 2013 2013 2012 2012 2011 2013 Approve 45 41 48 43 44 49 41 Disapprove 27 32 27 29 31 31 32 DK/NA 28 26 25 28 25 20 26 12. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Virginia today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very satisfied 7% 10% 4% 5% 8% 5% 7% 2% Smwht satisfied 57 63 56 54 60 54 55 66 Smwht dissatisfied 25 19 32 25 21 29 25 24 Very dissatisfied 10 7 7 13 9 11 11 7 DK/NA 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Very satisfied 9% 5% 5% 5% 9% 6% 7% 7% Smwht satisfied 59 55 53 58 61 56 58 57 Smwht dissatisfied 23 26 27 26 22 27 27 22 Very dissatisfied 9 11 13 10 7 10 7 12 DK/NA 1 2 2 - 2 1 1 2 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Very satisfied 10% 3% 6% 8% Smwht satisfied 62 51 61 47 Smwht dissatisfied 19 35 21 31 Very dissatisfied 8 10 10 14 DK/NA 2 2 2 - TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Virginia today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? (*High also 68% Jun 2011) VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Mar 27 Feb 20 Jan 10 Nov 15 Feb 09 Sep 14 Feb 20 2013 2013 2013 2012 2012 2011* 2013 Very satisfied 7 8 8 10 11 13 8 Smwht satisfied 57 50 57 57 55 55 50 Smwht dissatisfied 25 29 24 22 25 24 29 Very dissatisfied 10 12 10 11 9 7 12 DK/NA 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 13a. What is the most important issue to you in deciding how to vote for governor this year? COMBINED WITH: 13b. And what is the next most important issue to you in deciding how to vote for governor this year? (Note: Percentages add to more than 100%) Tot Economy total 37% Economy 20 Jobs/Unemployment 17 Education total 19% Education(General) 14 Education(Funding/Spending) 2 Education(Other) 3 Taxes total 15% Taxes(General) 14 Taxes(Other) 1 Budget total 12% Budget(General) 7 Budget (Government spending) 3 Budget (Other) 2 Gun Issues 9 Healthcare 8 Transportation 8 Roads/Infrastructure 5 Women's Issues 4 Social Issues/Social Services 4 Party/Political Philosophy 4 Abortion 3 Gay marriage/Gay Issues 3 Cares about the people 2 Military Issues/Benefits 2 Elderly Issues 2 Crime/Safety/Terrorism 1 Other 20 DK/NA 14 14. Do you think Terry McAuliffe has the right kind of experience to be Governor of Virginia or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 28% 14% 46% 24% 30% 27% 26% 37% No 23 41 6 22 28 18 27 9 DK/NA 49 45 48 53 42 55 47 54 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Yes 36% 24% 29% 24% 37% 31% 27% 28% No 26 20 18 21 30 11 28 26 DK/NA 38 56 52 55 33 58 45 46 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Yes 32% 25% 31% 21% No 25 21 24 19 DK/NA 43 54 45 59 15. Do you think Ken Cuccinelli has the right kind of experience to be Governor of Virginia or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 44% 66% 23% 44% 54% 35% 47% 31% No 22 9 33 22 20 23 21 22 DK/NA 35 25 44 35 26 42 32 47 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Yes 50% 40% 39% 44% 54% 40% 48% 44% No 29 17 21 21 24 13 24 25 DK/NA 22 43 40 35 22 47 28 31 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Yes 49% 36% 45% 41% No 22 22 23 17 DK/NA 29 42 31 42 16. Do you think Terry McAuliffe is too liberal, too conservative, or about right? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Liberal 21% 40% 5% 19% 28% 16% 25% 10% Conservative 4 4 4 4 6 2 4 4 About right 29 11 49 29 28 31 26 41 DK/NA 45 45 41 47 38 51 45 46 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Liberal 29% 17% 15% 24% 29% 14% 23% 25% Conservative 2 5 7 3 2 6 4 3 About right 37 25 29 30 36 28 32 30 DK/NA 32 53 49 43 33 52 41 42 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Liberal 28% 15% 22% 20% Conservative 4 4 4 4 About right 30 31 33 21 DK/NA 39 50 41 55 17. Do you think Ken Cuccinelli is too liberal, too conservative, or about right? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Liberal 5% 4% 7% 3% 5% 5% 5% 8% Conservative 29 14 45 30 31 28 29 34 About right 32 56 9 33 39 26 35 16 DK/NA 33 26 38 34 25 41 31 42 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Liberal 3% 6% 8% 5% 3% 7% 6% 4% Conservative 44 21 24 31 43 22 34 32 About right 31 32 29 35 32 24 34 35 DK/NA 22 40 39 30 22 46 26 29 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Liberal 6% 4% 6% 2% Conservative 36 22 34 20 About right 31 31 32 34 DK/NA 27 42 28 44 Demographic Summary
