July 19, 2013 - Iowa Voters Like Gov. Branstad, But Say It's Time To Go, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Possible 2014 Challengers Are Largely Unknown PDF format Iowa voters like Gov. Terry Branstad: they give him a 50 - 37 percent favorability rating and a 51 - 33 percent job approval, but they say 46 - 43 percent he does not deserve another term, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Asked another way, 54 percent of voters say Gov. Branstad has been in office long enough, while 37 percent say he should seek another term, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN- uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Working to Branstad's advantage should he seek another term is that the field of potential challengers is composed of unknowns about whom four out of five voters don't know enough to have an opinion. "Iowans have a nuanced opinion about their off and on-again governor, who has spent a total of 19 years in office. But by the barest of majorities - 50 percent - they like Gov. Terry Branstad and think he does a good job, but at the same they time think he has been in office long enough," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The question, should the governor seek another term, is whether their support for Branstad will in the end supersede voters' view that it's time for him to go." Branstad's 51 - 33 percent approval includes the expected partisan splits but almost no gender gap. His score compares to a 49 - 31 percent rating in Quinnipiac University's May 23 survey. Approval is 77 - 8 percent among Republicans and 50 - 33 percent among independent voters. Democrats disapprove 57 - 25 percent. Men approve 53 - 31 percent and women agree 48 - 34 percent. Republicans say 68 - 21 percent that Branstad deserves four more years, a drop from his 77 - 8 percent approval rating. Democrats say 72 - 18 percent he doesn't deserve another term while independent voters are divided 43 - 44 percent. Men also are divided 45 - 45 percent, while 46 percent of women say no to four more years as 41 percent say yes. "Clearly there are some Republicans that like Gov. Branstad and think he has done a good job who also think he has been in power too long, but most of them are probably going to vote for him in the 2014 election should he be matched up against a Democrat," Brown said. Although by 26 - 14 percent voters say Branstad's length of time in office makes them less likely rather than more like to vote for him, 58 percent say it does not matter to their vote. The three Democrats who are potential 2014 candidates for governor all face substantial efforts to introduce themselves to Iowa voters. The number of voters who don't know enough to form an opinion of Jack Hatch, Tyler Olson or Mike Gronstal ranges from 77 percent to 92 percent. "Not being well-known is a problem for candidates because in addition to having to sell their policy agenda they need to introduce themselves to the voters and that will require lots of money," said Brown. Iowans are happy with their elected officials. The State Legislature has a 46 - 34 percent approval rating, the highest for the legislature in any of the nine states surveyed by Quinnipiac University. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley gets a 59 - 29 percent approval, while U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin scores a 50 - 35 percent approval. From July 15 - 17, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,256 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 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, Colorado, Iowa and the nation as a public service and for research. For more information, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Terry Branstad is handling his job as Governor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Approve 51% 77% 25% 50% 53% 48% 52% Disapprove 33 8 57 33 31 34 33 DK/NA 16 14 18 16 15 17 16 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Approve 54% 50% 42% 59% 60% 42% 57% 53% 47% Disapprove 36 32 38 27 32 25 26 35 42 DK/NA 10 18 20 14 8 34 17 12 11 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Terry Branstad is handling his job as Governor? Jul 19 May 23 2013 2013 Approve 51 49 Disapprove 33 31 DK/NA 16 20 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Approve 46% 56% 37% 45% 50% 42% 46% Disapprove 34 23 42 36 35 34 34 DK/NA 20 20 21 19 16 25 20 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Approve 50% 44% 40% 55% 50% 50% 51% 45% 38% Disapprove 35 34 36 30 36 23 28 39 39 DK/NA 16 22 23 15 14 27 21 15 23 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Jul 19 May 23 2013 2013 Approve 46 38 Disapprove 34 41 DK/NA 20 21 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Chuck Grassley is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Approve 59% 77% 43% 58% 58% 60% 60% Disapprove 29 13 43 31 30 28 29 DK/NA 12 10 13 11 11 12 11 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Approve 54% 61% 57% 60% 59% 53% 63% 60% 58% Disapprove 38 26 29 30 32 27 22 32 33 DK/NA 9 13 14 10 9 21 15 9 8 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Chuck Grassley is handling his job as United States Senator? Jul 19 May 23 2013 2013 Approve 59 52 Disapprove 29 33 DK/NA 12 15 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Harkin is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Approve 50% 33% 74% 47% 43% 57% 50% Disapprove 35 49 12 40 43 28 35 DK/NA 15 17 15 14 14 16 15 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Approve 54% 49% 50% 51% 50% 46% 48% 51% 53% Disapprove 36 35 32 36 41 28 37 37 35 DK/NA 9 17 18 13 9 26 15 12 12 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Harkin is handling his job as United States Senator? Jul 19 May 23 2013 2013 Approve 50 47 Disapprove 35 35 DK/NA 15 18 6. Do you feel that Terry Branstad deserves to be reelected, or do you feel that he does not deserve to be reelected? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Yes/Deserves 43% 68% 18% 43% 45% 41% 44% No/Does not 46 21 72 44 45 46 45 DK/NA 12 11 10 13 10 13 11 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Yes/Deserves 48% 41% 36% 49% 55% 41% 48% 44% 37% No/Does not 44 46 50 43 39 43 38 47 53 DK/NA 8 13 14 9 6 15 14 9 10 TREND: Do you feel that Terry Branstad deserves to be reelected, or do you feel that he does not deserve to be reelected? Jul 19 May 23 2013 2013 Yes/Deserves 43 42 No/Does not 46 43 DK/NA 12 16 7. Do you think Governor Branstad has been in office long enough or do you think he should seek another term? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Long enough 54% 29% 79% 55% 51% 58% 54% Another term 37 61 15 34 40 33 37 DK/NA 9 10 6 11 9 9 9 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Long enough 51% 56% 58% 52% 48% 53% 48% 55% 62% Another term 42 35 32 39 47 33 40 38 32 DK/NA 8 9 10 9 6 14 11 7 6 8. Does Governor Branstad's length of time as Governor make you more likely to vote for him, less likely to vote for him, or doesn't it make a difference? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht More likely 14% 27% 8% 11% 16% 12% 14% Less likely 26 12 38 26 24 28 26 No difference 58 59 51 60 58 57 57 DK/NA 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ More likely 14% 14% 15% 14% 15% 16% 13% 14% 14% Less likely 23 27 30 22 22 13 24 26 36 No difference 60 57 52 62 62 68 63 58 44 DK/NA 2 3 3 2 1 3 - 2 6 17. Is your opinion of Terry Branstad favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Favorable 50% 80% 23% 49% 51% 50% 52% Unfavorable 37 10 62 37 35 38 36 Hvn't hrd enough 11 9 12 12 12 10 10 REFUSED 2 1 3 1 2 2 2 18. Is your opinion of Jack Hatch favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Favorable 6% 3% 8% 6% 7% 5% 6% Unfavorable 7 8 5 9 9 5 7 Hvn't hrd enough 85 88 85 83 82 88 86 REFUSED 1 - 2 2 1 2 1 19. Is your opinion of Tyler Olson favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Favorable 4% 1% 6% 5% 4% 4% 4% Unfavorable 4 4 1 5 6 2 3 Hvn't hrd enough 92 94 93 90 90 94 92 REFUSED - - - - - - - 20. Is your opinion of Mike Gronstal favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Favorable 11% 6% 16% 10% 12% 9% 11% Unfavorable 12 17 4 13 16 7 11 Hvn't hrd enough 77 77 79 77 72 83 77 REFUSED 1 - 1 - - 1 1 27. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Iowa today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Very satisfied 8% 10% 7% 7% 8% 9% 8% Smwht satisfied 59 67 55 58 62 57 60 Smwht dissatisfied 24 18 27 25 21 26 24 Very dissatisfied 7 3 9 9 7 7 6 DK/NA 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Very satisfied 7% 9% 8% 7% 13% 7% 9% 7% 10% Smwht satisfied 68 56 54 69 62 61 64 57 57 Smwht dissatisfied 19 26 26 20 20 19 23 27 24 Very dissatisfied 5 8 11 3 4 11 4 7 7 DK/NA 1 2 1 1 - 1 1 1 2 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Iowa today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Jul 19 May 23 2013 2013 Very satisfied 8 8 Smwht satisfied 59 58 Smwht dissatisfied 24 25 Very dissatisfied 7 7 DK/NA 1 2 Demographic Summary
