March 23, 2011 - Ohio Women Lead In Disapproval Of New Governor, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Oppose Efforts To Curb Unions Word format Ohio voters disapprove 46 - 30 percent of the way Gov. John Kasich is handling his job, with women disapproving 48 - 25 percent and men disapproving 44 - 37 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Voters say 53 - 36 percent that Gov. Kasich's budget is unfair to them. Voters oppose legislation working its way through the Ohio legislature that would limit the ability of public workers to collectively bargain, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe- ack) University survey finds. But the question wording has some influence on voter response: Half of those surveyed were asked about a bill that limited "collective bargaining," and oppose the measure 48 - 41 percent; The other half were asked about a bill that limited "collective bargaining rights," and oppose that measure 54 - 35 percent. "Gov. John Kasich has gotten off to a rocky start with Ohio voters, perhaps not surprising given the size of the cuts in public services and state spending that he has proposed," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling institute. "Although there is almost nothing in these numbers that Kasich can point to as evidence of his popularity or that of his proposals, he can take solace from the fact that he has almost four years to turn around public opinion. "The size of the gender gap in Gov. Kasich's approval rating is noteworthy. There also are gender gaps on other questions regarding how to deal with the state's budget. "Whether collective bargaining is a right or not is in the eye of the beholder, but the word 'right' appears to have an effect on the voters' response. But no matter how the question is asked, voters oppose limits on collective bargaining." By 55 - 37 percent voters say Kasich should not have pledged to meet the state's projected $8 billion budget deficit by only cutting spending and not raising taxes. And by 64 - 23 percent they say he will not keep that no-tax pledge, even though he presented a balanced budget plan that in fact does not raise levies. Then when given a choice of balancing the budget only by spending cuts, or by combining them and tax increases to reduce the amount of cuts needed, by 65 - 27 percent voters opted for not raising levies at all. "It's a pretty fair bet that the controversy over the Kasich proposals has made him and them unpopular with voters. Yet when voters are asked about his general approach of cutting but not taxing, that policy does much better in the court of public opinion," said Brown. "At this point, Kasich has not convinced voters, especially women, that he is being fair, and he is on the wrong side of the collective bargaining issue which has received major attention." Republicans approve of Kasich's job performance 63 - 18 percent, but his disapproval is 67 - 11 percent among Democrats and 49 - 25 percent among independent voters. Kasich's budget proposal is fair to people like them, Republicans say 63 - 25 percent. Democrats say it's unfair 73 - 17 percent, as do independent voters 57 - 32 percent. Men say "unfair" 49 - 43 percent and women say "unfair" 57 - 29 percent. Voters oppose 58 - 35 percent banning public employees from striking, but they support 66 - 27 percent the part of Kasich's budget that would require public employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums. By 46 - 39 percent voters oppose Kasich's plan to sell five state prisons to private firms as a way to save money. From March 15 - 21, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,384 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 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 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. 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Kasich is handling his job as Governor? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Approve 30% 63% 11% 25% 37% 25% 34% Disapprove 46 18 67 49 44 48 37 DK/NA 23 20 22 25 20 27 29 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Approve 28% 30% 36% 20% 32% 32% 19% Disapprove 50 48 31 57 41 47 58 DK/NA 22 22 33 24 27 21 23 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Kasich is handling his job as Governor? Mar 23 Jan 19 2011 2011 Approve 30 30 Disapprove 46 22 DK/NA 23 48 11. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Ohio today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Very satisfied 3% 5% 2% 1% 3% 2% 4% Smwht satisfied 26 38 18 24 28 25 32 Smwht dissatisfied 34 34 34 36 34 34 29 Very dissatisfied 36 22 46 37 35 37 33 DK/NA 1 1 - 1 1 2 2 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Very satisfied 2% 2% 9% 2% 1% 3% - Smwht satisfied 30 23 32 19 35 20 21 Smwht dissatisfied 38 33 30 29 32 38 26 Very dissatisfied 29 40 28 48 32 38 51 DK/NA 1 2 1 2 - 1 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Ohio today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Mar 23 Jan 19 Jun 29 Apr 29 Mar 31 Mar 21 Mar 23 2011 2011 2010 2010 2010 2007 2011 Very satisfied 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 Smwht satisfied 26 28 37 38 35 49 26 Smwht dissatisfied 34 39 34 30 35 28 34 Very dissatisfied 36 28 25 28 26 16 36 DK/NA 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 12. (Split Sample) As you may know, there is a proposed law in Ohio that would limit collective bargaining for public employees. Do you support or oppose limiting collective bargaining for public employees? Union WtBrnAgn Tot HsHld Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 41% 23% 59% 26% 41% 54% 30% 45% Oppose 48 66 33 65 47 41 55 49 DK/NA 10 12 8 9 12 5 15 6 13. (Split Sample) As you may know, there is a proposed law in Ohio that would limit collective bargaining rights for public employees. Do you support or oppose limiting collective bargaining rights for public employees? Union WtBrnAgn Tot HsHld Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 35% 18% 54% 23% 33% 42% 28% 42% Oppose 54 75 35 66 58 50 58 45 DK/NA 11 7 11 11 9 8 14 13 14. Do you think limiting collective bargaining for public employees is necessary to help balance the state budget or not? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Yes 37% 55% 27% 36% 43% 32% 39% No 55 37 67 56 51 58 54 DK/NA 8 8 5 8 6 10 6 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Yes 33% 38% 46% 33% 35% 39% 19% No 60 53 46 59 55 56 75 DK/NA 7 8 8 8 10 5 6 15. The proposed law limiting collective bargaining for public employees would ban all public employee strikes. Do you support or oppose banning all public employee strikes? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 35% 53% 25% 34% 39% 32% 41% Oppose 58 40 69 59 56 59 53 DK/NA 7 7 6 7 5 9 5 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Support 38% 33% 38% 43% 37% 32% 24% Oppose 58 59 52 49 59 59 71 DK/NA 3 8 10 8 4 9 5 16. The proposed law would require public employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums. Do you support or oppose requiring public employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 66% 73% 60% 65% 66% 65% 64% Oppose 27 21 35 24 27 27 28 DK/NA 8 6 5 11 7 8 9 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Support 64% 66% 69% 56% 71% 62% 49% Oppose 29 24 27 37 24 29 39 DK/NA 7 10 4 6 5 9 11 17. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Kasich is handling the state budget? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Approve 31% 60% 14% 28% 36% 27% 38% Disapprove 51 22 73 53 48 53 42 DK/NA 18 18 13 19 16 20 20 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Approve 30% 30% 41% 20% 34% 33% 20% Disapprove 53 52 39 62 46 53 62 DK/NA 17 18 21 18 20 14 18 18. How serious do you think Ohio's budget problems are, very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious, or not at all serious? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Very serious 62% 71% 55% 62% 62% 61% 65% Smwht serious 33 27 40 30 33 33 30 Not too serious 2 1 3 3 2 3 2 Not at all serious - - - - - - - DK/NA 3 1 2 5 3 3 2 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Very serious 55% 64% 62% 52% 64% 65% 52% Smwht serious 40 30 30 39 35 29 41 Not too serious 3 2 6 2 1 3 4 Not at all serious - - - 1 - - - DK/NA 2 4 2 7 - 3 2 TREND: How serious do you think Ohio's budget problems are - Very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious or not at all serious? Mar 23 Jan 19 Mar 21 Feb 01 2011 2011 2007 2007 Very serious 62 69 37 43 Smwht serious 33 27 48 43 Not too serious 2 2 9 7 Not at all serious - - 1 1 DK/NA 3 2 6 6 19. Governor John Kasich has pledged that in trying to balance the state's budget that he will not raise taxes or fees. Do you think John Kasich should have made this pledge or not? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Yes 37% 52% 28% 37% 38% 37% 46% No 55 40 67 55 56 54 48 DK/NA 8 7 6 8 6 9 7 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Yes 31% 38% 35% 30% 39% 48% 28% No 62 53 52 63 58 47 66 DK/NA 7 9 13 7 3 6 6 20. Do you think John Kasich will be able to keep this pledge or not? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Yes 23% 39% 15% 21% 24% 22% 24% No 64 47 76 67 63 65 62 DK/NA 13 14 10 12 13 13 14 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Yes 26% 21% 25% 18% 21% 27% 20% No 63 63 57 77 71 63 70 DK/NA 11 15 18 6 8 11 10 21. Do you think Governor Kasich's proposals to balance the state budget are fair or unfair to people like you? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Fair 36% 63% 17% 32% 43% 29% 41% Unfair 53 25 73 57 49 57 46 DK/NA 11 12 10 10 8 14 13 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Fair 32% 36% 34% 33% 44% 35% 21% Unfair 56 54 53 61 40 56 70 DK/NA 12 10 12 6 16 9 9 22. What do you think about the cuts in state spending that Governor Kasich has proposed in order to balance the state budget? Do you think Kasich's cuts in state spending go too far, not far enough or are they about right? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Too far 40% 18% 62% 38% 35% 46% 34% Not far enough 15 14 10 18 20 10 15 About right 30 55 17 26 33 27 36 DK/NA 15 13 11 18 13 17 15 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Too far 46% 42% 32% 50% 31% 39% 56% Not far enough 12 15 22 9 14 16 7 About right 28 27 36 27 38 27 20 DK/NA 14 16 11 13 17 18 16 23. Do you think that Governor Kasich's spending cuts will help Ohio's economy, hurt Ohio's economy, or not make a difference? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Help 31% 60% 11% 28% 37% 25% 35% Hurt 35 16 51 36 33 37 33 No difference 26 16 30 29 23 28 20 DK/NA 8 7 9 6 7 10 12 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Help 30% 31% 31% 21% 39% 26% 20% Hurt 34 37 33 32 29 40 43 No difference 28 22 30 38 25 25 30 DK/NA 8 10 5 10 7 9 7 24. Which comes closer to your view regarding Governor Kasich's budget proposal: A) Taxes should not be raised, there should only be spending cuts. B) Taxes should be raised so that there will be fewer spending cuts. WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl A) Only cuts 65% 80% 52% 65% 65% 64% 74% B) Taxes/Fewer cuts 27 15 39 25 30 24 19 DK/NA 9 5 9 9 5 12 7 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld A) Only cuts 71% 63% 66% 53% 65% 62% 54% B) Taxes/Fewer cuts 25 27 27 31 26 27 34 DK/NA 4 10 7 16 9 12 12 25. Governor Kasich has proposed selling off five state prisons to help balance the state budget. Do you support or oppose this proposal? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 39% 52% 27% 39% 42% 36% 44% Oppose 46 27 62 49 45 48 38 DK/NA 15 21 12 12 13 17 18 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Support 44% 40% 44% 29% 39% 30% 34% Oppose 45 47 34 60 42 53 53 DK/NA 11 14 22 10 19 17 13
