In a matter of seconds Wednesday night Joe Wilson went from being pretty safe for reelection to one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the country.
Wilson trails Democratic challenger Rob Miller 44-43 in a PPP survey conducted Thursday night and Friday morning. Last year Wilson defeated Miller 54-46.
62% of voters in SC-2 disapprove of Wilson's actions while just 29% think they were ok. By a 48-41 margin Republicans think what he did was fine, but independents are opposed to it by a 66/25 margin and Democrats are 84/10.
While there is a pretty strong consensus among respondents that the way Wilson expressed his opinion is inappropriate, they are almost evenly divided about whether the substance of his comment was correct. 42% think that Obama was lying when he said illegal immigrants wouldn't be covered by his health care plans, while 46% think he was telling the truth.
Overall 49% of voters say they are less likely to vote for Wilson in the future because he called Obama a liar, while 35% say they are more likely to do so. 56% of Republicans say that Wilson's calling out the President makes them more likely to support him.
It will be interesting to see if there is a push now for Wilson to not seek reelection. In a Republican climate there's no reason this seat should be competitive next year, but as long as Wilson is the GOP candidate it will be. If he stepped aside it would probably go back to being safe Republican.
Full results here
I'm not questioning the veracity of your poll given your Democratic bias, but it would be interesting to see your partisan breakdown. Like CNN's bogus poll after the President's State of the Union, it is very easy to jigger a poll's breakdown to push a self fulfilling meme.
ReplyDeleteThe amendment on the Health Care Bill for proof of citizenship went before the House twice and was defeated. And the president knew that. He lied.
ReplyDeleteWhy do the liars like Joe Wilson think if you tell a lie often enough, it becomes fact? How stupid is this country going to allow itself to become?
ReplyDeleteHaha.... How has this poll turned out to be??? SC-2 is rated as Safe D by all political handicappers.
ReplyDelete