February 11, 2013 - Obama Should Focus State Of The Union On Economy, U.S. Voters Tell Quinnipiac University National Poll; President Handles Economy Better Than GOP, Voters Say Word format PDF format President Barack Obama should focus on the economy in his State of the Union Address, 35 percent of American voters say in a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Another 20 percent say the federal deficit is the top priority, with 15 percent citing gun policy and 12 percent listing health care. The U.S. economy is in a recession 53 percent of voters tell the independent Quinnipiac (KWUIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll. A total of 79 percent of voters describe the economy as "not so good" or "poor" and only 34 percent say it's getting better, while 28 percent say it's getting worse and 37 percent say it's staying about the same. By a 47 - 41 percent margin, American voters trust President Barack Obama more than Republicans in Congress to handle the economy. Trust measures on other issues are: 44 percent trust Obama to handle the deficit, compared to 42 percent for Republicans; 48 - 40 percent trust Obama more on health care; 45 percent trust Obama on gun policy while 43 percent trust Republicans; 46 - 41 percent trust Obama more on immigration; 55 - 31 percent trust Obama more on the environment; 51 - 37 percent trust Obama more on foreign policy. "It's not a majority, but 35 percent of American voters want President Barack Obama to focus on the economy in his State of the Union Address tomorrow night" said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Voters trust President Obama more than Congressional Republicans on the economy and most other issues, but they are more closely divided on who would do a better job on the deficit and on gun-control. And by 48 - 39 percent, voters trust Republicans in Congress more than Obama to cut federal spending." Congress should prevent the $1.2 trillion cuts in defense and domestic spending due to take effect March 1, 43 percent of voters say, while 22 percent say let the cuts happen. Another 32 percent have no opinion. A total of 66 percent of American voters say they are "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to watch the State of the Union Address. That includes 46 percent of Republicans, 86 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of independent voters. Women say they are more likely to watch than men, 71 - 59 percent. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, selected to give the Republican response to the State of the Union address, has a 27 - 15 percent favorability rating among American voters, with 57 percent who don't know enough about him to form an opinion. "Let's see if Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's supporting actor role Tuesday night moves the needle on his favorability meter among voters," Brown said. From January 30 - February 4, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,772 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.3 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 data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 16. President Obama's State of the Union address is scheduled to take place on Tuesday evening, February 12th. How likely is it you will watch the President's State of the Union address that night, very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely or not at all likely? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Very likely 43% 21% 67% 39% 37% 48% 38% 65% 59% Smwht likely 23 25 19 25 22 23 23 25 18 Not very likely 9 14 5 10 11 8 11 1 7 Not likely at all 24 39 8 26 29 21 27 10 16 DK/NA 1 - - 1 1 - 1 - - WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Very likely 45% 35% 37% 40% 33% 43% 29% 42% 39% Smwht likely 24 23 23 20 24 23 24 22 17 Not very likely 12 10 12 10 12 10 13 10 11 Not likely at all 19 31 26 28 31 23 33 25 32 DK/NA - 1 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Very likely 48% 41% 46% 40% 44% 34% 36% 47% 51% Smwht likely 23 23 22 24 21 29 27 21 15 Not very likely 11 9 8 10 12 9 9 9 10 Not likely at all 18 27 23 26 23 27 26 23 23 DK/NA - 1 1 - - - 1 - 1 17. As President Obama prepares to deliver his State of the Union address, please tell me which one of the following issues you are most interested in hearing him address: the economy, the federal budget deficit, health care, gun policy, foreign policy, immigration, or the environment? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Economy 35% 32% 38% 35% 34% 36% 35% 43% 25% Federal deficit 20 30 12 21 24 18 23 14 11 Health care 12 10 16 8 8 15 11 17 13 Gun policy 15 12 18 14 14 15 14 16 16 Foreign policy 5 4 4 8 6 4 5 2 9 Immigration 4 3 6 4 4 5 3 2 15 Environment 3 - 4 4 3 3 3 1 7 DK/NA 6 8 3 6 7 4 6 5 4 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Economy 39% 33% 36% 40% 33% 37% 35% 40% 33% Federal deficit 24 22 25 22 25 20 22 23 27 Health care 9 12 13 10 8 14 14 9 9 Gun policy 10 16 12 15 14 14 12 15 13 Foreign policy 5 5 4 6 6 4 4 6 4 Immigration 4 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 6 Environment 4 2 2 1 4 2 2 1 3 DK/NA 4 6 6 4 7 4 9 3 5 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Economy 38% 33% 33% 36% 37% 28% 34% 36% 38% Federal deficit 22 19 18 19 29 13 22 22 20 Health care 9 13 15 9 7 14 8 12 14 Gun policy 10 17 18 16 11 26 18 12 9 Foreign policy 6 5 4 6 5 7 6 5 4 Immigration 5 4 4 4 5 3 4 6 3 Environment 4 3 3 3 2 3 2 4 3 DK/NA 6 6 6 7 5 5 5 5 9 18. Who do you trust to do a better job handling - the economy, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Obama 47% 6% 89% 41% 41% 52% 38% 87% 64% Reps in Congress 41 85 7 43 47 37 50 5 20 DK/NA 12 9 5 17 12 11 12 8 16 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Obama 47% 34% 33% 39% 34% 42% 20% 44% 34% Reps in Congress 43 53 54 52 53 47 66 45 50 DK/NA 10 12 13 9 12 11 14 11 16 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Obama 50% 46% 52% 45% 40% 42% 47% 49% 49% Reps in Congress 38 43 38 44 47 41 44 41 39 DK/NA 12 11 10 11 13 17 9 10 12 TREND: Who do you trust to do a better job handling the economy, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? (* Low also 41% Jul 2010, Jun 2011) OBAMA......... High Low Feb 11 Apr 20 Feb 23 Nov 22 Nov 02 Nov 02 Oct 06 2013 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011* Obama 47 43 46 44 48 48 41 Reps in Congress 41 43 41 41 39 39 43 DK/NA 12 15 13 15 12 12 16 19. Who do you trust to do a better job handling - the federal budget deficit, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Obama 44% 6% 84% 36% 38% 49% 35% 86% 63% Reps in Congress 42 84 9 43 47 37 51 4 21 DK/NA 15 10 8 22 15 15 15 10 16 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Obama 43% 31% 29% 36% 31% 38% 17% 39% 35% Reps in Congress 45 54 55 52 54 47 66 47 48 DK/NA 13 16 16 12 14 15 17 14 17 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Obama 46% 42% 49% 42% 36% 40% 43% 46% 43% Reps in Congress 39 43 36 43 50 36 43 41 44 DK/NA 15 15 14 15 14 24 13 13 13 TREND: Who do you trust to do a better job handling the federal budget deficit, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? (*the budget deficit) BIN LADEN DEATH Post Pre Feb 11 Feb 23 Jun 09 May 05 May 05 Mar 3 2013 2012 2011 2011* 2011* 2011* Obama 44 44 39 42 42 43 Reps in Congress 42 46 46 44 46 46 DK/NA 15 10 15 14 11 11 20. Who do you trust to do a better job handling - health care, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Obama 48% 6% 89% 42% 42% 53% 39% 90% 65% Reps in Congress 40 85 6 39 46 35 48 3 21 DK/NA 12 9 4 19 12 13 13 7 14 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Obama 51% 33% 33% 41% 36% 42% 19% 45% 36% Reps in Congress 39 53 55 46 52 45 67 42 50 DK/NA 10 14 13 13 12 13 13 13 14 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Obama 54% 45% 52% 46% 43% 46% 48% 49% 48% Reps in Congress 35 42 36 43 46 41 41 39 40 DK/NA 11 13 12 11 11 13 12 13 12 TREND: Who do you trust to do a better job handling health care, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? (*Low also 42% Jan 2010 & Mar 2010)) BETTER PRES... High Low Feb 11 Mar 03 Nov 17 Apr 21 Jul 1 Apr 21 2013 2011 2010 2010 2009 2010* President Obama 48 46 44 42 53 42 Reps in Congress 40 43 45 39 33 39 DK/NA 12 12 10 19 14 19 23. Who do you trust to do a better job handling - the environment, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Obama 55% 21% 87% 52% 52% 58% 49% 82% 73% Reps in Congress 31 64 6 30 34 28 36 10 15 DK/NA 14 15 6 19 14 14 15 8 12 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Obama 60% 43% 42% 49% 46% 51% 29% 53% 45% Reps in Congress 27 41 41 35 39 34 54 32 37 DK/NA 13 16 16 16 16 14 18 15 18 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Obama 63% 52% 55% 54% 60% 55% 60% 56% 49% Reps in Congress 24 34 31 33 28 31 29 31 32 DK/NA 13 14 14 13 12 14 11 13 19 24. Who do you trust to do a better job handling - foreign policy, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Obama 51% 8% 90% 47% 46% 55% 43% 84% 68% Reps in Congress 37 79 6 34 42 32 44 7 22 DK/NA 12 13 3 18 12 12 13 9 10 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Obama 53% 39% 39% 43% 40% 47% 27% 49% 42% Reps in Congress 36 47 48 46 47 40 58 40 45 DK/NA 10 14 13 10 13 13 15 12 13 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Obama 57% 48% 56% 47% 50% 48% 52% 52% 52% Reps in Congress 33 38 31 43 42 36 39 37 33 DK/NA 10 13 14 10 8 16 9 11 14 25. Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Excellent 1% 1% 2% - 1% 1% 1% 4% - Good 19 3 34 18 19 20 16 31 27 Not so good 41 32 47 43 41 40 38 49 47 Poor 38 64 16 38 39 38 44 15 26 DK/NA - - 1 - - 1 1 1 - WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Excellent - 1% 1% - 1% - 1% - 1% Good 22 14 15 16 17 16 8 19 17 Not so good 43 36 35 39 39 38 31 39 34 Poor 35 49 49 44 43 45 58 41 47 DK/NA 1 - 1 - - 1 1 - - COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Excellent - 1% 1% 1% - - 1% 1% 1% Good 23 18 20 18 21 22 16 20 20 Not so good 45 39 40 40 42 45 45 39 35 Poor 32 42 38 41 36 33 37 40 42 DK/NA 1 - - - - - - - 2 TREND: Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as excellent, good, not so good, or poor? EXLNT+GOOD.... High Low Feb 11 Jul 12 Feb 23 Oct 06 Sep 01 Dec 10 Mar 04 2013 2012 2012 2011 2011 2003 2009 Excellent 1 1 1 - - 3 - Good 19 13 13 6 4 37 3 Not so good 41 45 43 38 35 42 28 Poor 38 41 43 55 61 16 68 DK/NA - 1 1 - - 1 - 26. Do you think the nation's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Better 34% 10% 57% 33% 34% 35% 32% 49% 35% Worse 28 52 7 29 32 25 33 7 17 The same 37 37 35 38 34 40 35 43 45 DK/NA 1 1 1 - - 1 - - 3 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Better 44% 26% 28% 31% 33% 31% 20% 35% 31% Worse 24 37 37 35 35 31 49 29 35 The same 32 36 34 33 32 37 31 36 33 DK/NA - - - - - 1 - - 1 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Better 46% 29% 33% 32% 38% 29% 30% 37% 37% Worse 21 31 26 30 28 28 28 27 29 The same 33 39 40 37 34 42 41 35 33 DK/NA - 1 - - - 1 - - 2 TREND: Do you think the nation's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? (* Low also 11% Sep 2011) BETTER........ High Low Feb 11 Feb 23 Oct 06 Sep 01 Jul 14 Jan 18 Oct 06 2013 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011* Better 34 35 11 11 23 36 11 Worse 28 26 44 49 32 20 44 The same 37 38 44 39 43 43 44 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 27. Do you think the United States economy is in a recession now? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 53% 74% 35% 53% 52% 54% 56% 35% 55% No 42 21 60 42 43 41 39 58 43 DK/NA 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 6 2 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Yes 48% 60% 59% 61% 53% 59% 67% 55% 59% No 48 35 36 37 42 36 27 41 36 DK/NA 3 5 5 2 4 5 6 3 5 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Yes 46% 57% 53% 56% 51% 58% 57% 53% 47% No 51 38 40 42 48 37 40 42 46 DK/NA 3 5 7 2 1 5 3 5 6 TREND: Do you think the United States economy is in a recession now? YES RECESSION High Low Feb 11 Apr 20 Feb 23 Oct 06 Sep 01 Jun 22 Feb 11 2013 2012 2012 2011 2011 2010 2013 Yes 53 68 66 77 76 79 53 No 42 27 30 20 20 18 42 DK/NA 5 5 4 3 4 3 5 28. Do you think the economy is beginning to recover or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 53% 23% 81% 52% 51% 54% 48% 80% 63% No 44 75 16 45 47 42 50 16 35 DK/NA 3 2 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Yes 58% 43% 43% 47% 47% 49% 33% 51% 46% No 40 55 54 51 51 49 63 48 52 DK/NA 2 3 3 2 3 3 4 2 2 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Yes 61% 49% 54% 49% 54% 53% 47% 54% 58% No 37 48 44 48 44 45 50 44 38 DK/NA 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 4 TREND: Do you think the economy is beginning to recover or not? (*High also Jan 2011) YES RECOVER High Low Feb 11 Apr 20 Feb 23 Sep 01 Jul 14 Feb 23 Sep 01 2013 2012 2012 2011 2011 2012* 2011 Yes 53 53 54 28 45 54 28 No 44 43 43 68 52 43 68 DK/NA 3 4 3 4 3 3 4 29. As you may know, unless Congress acts, about $1.2 trillion in defense and domestic spending would be cut from the federal budget on March 1st. Do you want these cuts to take effect or not, or don't you have an opinion on that? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes/Cut spending 22% 23% 17% 26% 28% 17% 23% 11% 20% No/Don't cut 43 46 43 44 41 46 45 44 41 No opinion 32 28 37 28 28 35 30 43 37 REFUSED 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Yes/Cut spending 25% 22% 21% 22% 30% 17% 23% 21% 27% No/Don't cut 51 41 48 45 41 48 46 46 50 No opinion 21 34 30 30 26 33 30 30 20 REFUSED 3 2 2 4 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+ Yes/Cut spending 25% 21% 16% 25% 33% 21% 21% 25% 21% No/Don't cut 50 41 42 47 46 35 44 47 43 No opinion 22 36 39 27 19 42 32 25 34 REFUSED 3 2 3 1 3 2 3 3 2 30. Who do you trust to do a better job cutting federal spending, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Obama 39% 4% 74% 32% 32% 46% 32% 78% 53% Reps in Congress 48 88 17 50 56 41 56 13 34 DK/NA 12 8 8 18 12 13 12 8 12 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Obama 38% 29% 28% 32% 27% 37% 18% 37% 28% Reps in Congress 52 57 61 59 60 51 70 52 57 DK/NA 10 13 12 9 12 12 11 11 15 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Obama 40% 39% 46% 36% 29% 39% 38% 41% 39% Reps in Congress 48 48 42 51 59 45 50 47 50 DK/NA 12 13 12 12 12 16 12 12 11 Demographic Summary
