Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Voting and Suggestions...

Pennsylvania was the winner of our vote on where to poll next week. Two areas for suggestions:

-Who would you like to see us test against Bob Casey?

-Besides doing our standard President and Senate questions and asking how folks are feeling about Tom Corbett so far, is there anything else you'd like us to ask in Pennsylvania?

And the choices for the bonus Republican on our national poll are Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, and Rand Paul. Voting on that will be open until tomorrow. We didn't include Donald Trump as an option because we already polled on him nationally this week for Daily Kos- you can check out those Trump numbers here.

We also appreciate good ideas for national poll questions that other pollsters probably wouldn't ask- kind of like the Charlie Sheen vs. Barack Obama and Sarah Palin poll last month- sure stuff like that is silly but judging by our web traffic it brought thousands of people 15 seconds of amusement and I don't think there's anything wrong with a polling company doing that here and there.

64 comments:

  1. You should ask for support of Paul Ryan's budget proposals for dealing with the debt.

    Then ask support for the President's Debt Commission's proposals for dealing with the debt.

    Or you can do a "which do you prefer" type question.

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  2. Check favorables on Arlen Specter.

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  3. Naturally, a gubernatorial re-match would be interesting.

    What with consistent desires for do-over elections of Repubs- even Georgia- it makes me wonder whether a split state like Minnesota with a Dem Governor or a united Dem government like Illinois would show the same desire for a do-over. At least, such polls would show what is a normal and what is a big level of support lost.

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  4. I'd really really love to see a question about support for same-sex marriage in PA. I haven't seen a statewide poll on that issue in almost 2 years, and I think it's very relevant, especially due to its neighboring states: Maryland and New York's recent efforts to legalize same-sex marriage, New Jersey has civil unions, and Delaware's current efforts to legalize civil unions.

    Pennsylvania also has a large population, so I think it would be really interesting and insightful to see where its citizens stand on the issue, especially with the ongoing national debate concerning the Defense of Marriage Act and same-sex marriage in general. The last actual poll I can find is from May 2009, so it would be really great to get an update from PA in light of recent polls showing majority support nationally for legalizing same-sex marriage.

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  5. National poll:

    - Have a 'gay marriage: Yes or No' question (to complement the last one giving civil unions as an option)

    - Poll support of Paul Ryan's budget proposals. I would suggest separate questions since the details might not be too well-reported. Ex: "1. What's your opinion of Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan?" "2. Would you support a budget plan that cut 4 trillion dollars from Medicare in order to close to deficit?" (or something like that, specifics might not be all that right.)

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  6. Joe Sestak's name has been thrown around for a future statewide run so testing his favorables would be good. He won't be running for a while but an early look at what people still think of him would be interesting.

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  7. A repoll of Corbett v. Onorato would be nice.

    Against Casey: Gerlach, Dent, Santorum (just for fun), Tom Ridge

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  8. Test the governor of PA against Bob Casey along with Congressman Dent

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  9. Corbett approval, Boehner favorability, Santorum vs. Obama presidential just to see how awful he is. I don't know much about Pennsylvania state-wide politics but for Senate: Rep. Dent, Scaringi, Rep. Murphy, and State Sen. Kim Ward. Ward is the dark horse in a field of otherwise bland and relatively non-viable candidates.

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  10. Test Sestak and Murphy for favorables and viability.

    It would be good to pair a PA poll with an IN poll made at the same time.

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  11. Please continue with your same-sex marriage state survey in PA.

    I agree with everything the anonymous poster said above, so I won't repeat it all:

    "I'd really really love to see a question about support for same-sex marriage in PA. I haven't seen a statewide poll on that issue in almost 2 years..."

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  12. Ron Paul got 16% in the actual primary even back in 2008 in PA. You aren't polling him?

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  13. http://www.micropoll.com/a/mpresult/1064188-411031 Shows that every vote coming towards Giuliani is from D.C. They are manipulating this poll. Look at how many states support Rand Paul vs Giuliani. This poll is rigged.

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  14. Ward, Dent, Gerlach all have indicated they won't run.

    State Sen. Eichelberger is thinking about it.

    Fmr, Gubernatorial candidate and state Rep Sam Rohrer said he's 50-50 on a Casey challenge as of yesterday.

    Poll Right to Work in PA to compare with OH etc.

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  15. It would be very interesting to poll awareness/support for the FRAC Act, a bill introduced in Congress to impose basic regulations on the natural gas industry that is engaging in the environmentally damaging practice of fracking in PA.

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  16. You should poll hypothetical matchups for the governor. In addition to the Corbett-Onorato rematch, also consider polling Corbett v. Casey and Corbett v. Sestak. Both Casey and Sestak are potential gubernatorial candidates in the future.

    For the Senate race, test Casey vs. Dent, Murphy, Gerlach, and Shuster. Could throw in Rick Santorum just for fun, but I doubt he's running for Senate.

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  17. You should include Gary Johnson either whether he wins this poll or not.

    He is a very strong candidate, and has made it pretty clear he will run.

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  18. Gerlach, Lynn Swann, and Tim Burns against Casey.

    Also, in the out-there category -- a Rendell-Casey primary, and a Critz-Casey primary (Critz is losing his seat).

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  19. Let's see.

    Poll Santorum for President (general and primary) and Senator...

    Sestak for something...(Governor? 2010 rematch?)

    And gay marriage too.

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  20. "Ron Paul got 16% in the actual primary even back in 2008 in PA. You aren't polling him?"

    We always poll Ron Paul in the primary field, but not against Obama. He's been included as the bonus Republican in our national poll a few times in the past, including just a month or two ago.

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  21. Re same-sex marriage polls... the question must be worded precisely. The majority of the population believes in live-and-let-live. If a same-sex couple lives just like an opposite-sex couple, very few people support making that "illegal" (in the way that, say, smoking marijuana in your own home is illegal).

    It's not a question of legality, but of government recognition. If you ask whether the government should officially recognize certain committed relationships, such that couples get certain benefits that are denied to single people, you'd find lots of support for including same-sex couples in the definition.

    If you ask whether the government should mandate that same-sex relationships be treated the same as opposite-sex relationships (such that say an employer be required to give the same benefits to both), at that point support may dip below a majority, as this clearly is no longer a matter of live-and-let-live.

    Perhaps the best question would be whether the government should get completely out of the business of defining marriage, leaving that up to individuals, communities, religious groups etc. In the eyes of the government, a "marriage" contract would be treated just like any other contract between individuals... binding upon those who enter into the contract, but not upon others.

    I say this is the best question, since simply stopping the defining of marriage at the government level is the possibility most missing from the public debate.

    Stuart
    http://stuart-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/

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  22. Which of the 3 budget plans do you support?

    A.) Obama
    B.) Paul Ryan
    C.) Rand Paul

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  23. Gary Johnson is declaring his candidacy on April 26th. He should be included as his positions run rather counter to the Palin-Huck-Gingrich bloc...

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  24. Please include Gary Johnson, and of course, Ron Paul.

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  25. You should definitely include former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.

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  26. i would like to see Gary Johnson

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  27. Both Gary Johnson and Ron Paul should be included in your poll.

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  28. Gary Johnson former governor of New Mexico

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  29. I think former N.M. governor Gary Johnson would be an excellent candidate for president.

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  30. Poll Gary Johnson definitely! He is the most qualified candidate considering running at the moment.

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  31. Notice five requests in a row for Gary Johnson within one hour. That doesn't raise suspicions of some Gary Johnson mailing list trying to game the poll or anything...

    Poll Rebecca Black's favorability.

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  32. I agree with Stuart's comments on the wording of an issue, and I would add that just the word "marriage" itself is a major sticking point with a lot of people.

    I know of many people that are totally against "gay marriage" but all in favor of "civil unions for gay couples."

    Six more rapid-fire Gary Johnson requests showed up after I submitted my previous comment, bringing the total to 11 in under two hours. Nope, no suspicion of some Gary Johnson listserv manipulating the vote here...

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  33. RE: Stuart

    We're talking about going to the county courthouse and applying for a marriage license. Should it be legal for same-sex couples to get married in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or not? It's plain and simple.

    You say "mandate that same-sex relationships be treated the same as opposite-sex relationships," I say "afford same-sex couples the same rights and responsibilities of a civil marriage contract that opposite-sex couples take for granted." They're both exactly the same thing, and our differing perspectives illustrate the importance of asking Pennsylvanians their opinions on the matter, since the state is large and culturally diverse.

    Simply asking whether it should be legal or illegal is sufficient enough. PPP knows what they're doing when asking questions like this, as they have done so for years in many different places. It's certainly a worthwhile polling question to ask and I would greatly, greatly appreciate it if PPP did ask it in Pennsylvania.

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  34. Please include Gary Johnson. He scored well in the CPAC straw poll.

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  35. Against Casey: Charlie Dent, Jim Gerlach, Tim Murphy, Jake Corman

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  36. In PA: Sam Rohrer of Americans for Prosperity.

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  37. Gary Johnson knows how to balance a budget. He needs to be included.

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  38. GARY JOHNSON!!!! Give this guy some credit for crying out loud.

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  39. Gary Johnson. He's the best the GOP has to offer by far.

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  40. GARY JOHNSON and RON PAUL is who i want to see included in the debate!

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  41. Gary Johnson actual has principles. Let's go with him!

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  42. Try Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson!

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  43. Please test Governor Corbett versus former Rep. Joe Sestak. It's never too early to think about 2014 and there's a lot of chatter in Democratic circles about the possibility of another Sestak candidacy.

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  44. Please poll to see whether Pennsylvanians favor Corbett's controvertial plan for education (some high-profile Republicans have recently come out against it).

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  45. Don't forget about polling former governor Gary Johnson for President

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  46. Former Gov. Gary Johnson, Rand Paul and Ron Paul should certainly not be excluded

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  47. I don't see anyone other than Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, Dennis Kucinich, or a Libertarian that I'd want for president so far.

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  48. Ron Paul
    Gary Johnson
    Dennis Kucinich
    or unnamed Libertarian

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  49. GaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnsonGaryJohnson

    Okay, now that he's been mentioned ten thousand times can you Gary Johnson trolls stop coming back here?

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  50. Gary Johnson should be excluded from the next six months of polling, just to show that attempts by candidates' mailing lists to game your polls won't succeed.

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  51. Not sure if there's still time to ask, if not and you like the question, there's always the next poll.

    What is your opinion of Godfather's pizza in terms of quality?

    Very favorable

    favorable

    moderate or no opinion

    unfavorable

    very unfavorable.

    Never tried it

    Two Does your opinion of Godfather's Pizza make you

    More likely to vote for Herman Cain

    Just as likely

    Less likely

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  52. Gary Johnson - just kidding.

    Gary Johnson has zero chance of being competitive for anything. Unless he's running as something other than Republican.

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  53. I agree on Sestak. Sestak for something or just his favorables. It's nice to have a strong democratic candidate waiting in the wings in a state

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  54. Ask whether people support taxing those who drill in the marcellus shales please. Thanks!

    Maybe ask about marijuana decriminalization too!

    Also Gary Johnson sent his followers here to spam, he should not be included.

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