More Voters Have Unfavorable Opinion than Favorable

Raleigh, N.C. – North Carolina voters now have an unfavorable opinion of Gov. Bev Perdue according to a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute. This represents a dramatic reversal from the glowing ratings voters gave Perdue just a few months ago.

According to the live-caller poll of 600 voters, when asked of their opinion of Perdue, 38 percent of voters said they had an unfavorable opinion. Only 36 percent of voters said they had a favorable opinion. 22 percent said they had no opinion.

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“For a sitting Governor to have their personal approval rating turn negative this quickly, indicates serious voter discontent with the current administration,” said Civitas Institute Executive Director Francis De Luca. “Governor Perdue’s statewide campaign and media blitz for tax increases has done considerable damage to her support among voters.”

Perdue’s favorability rating has seen a dramatic drop over the past four months. In March her favorability rating stood at 57 percent favorable, 20 percent unfavorable.

“Perhaps the Governor should explore taking another Caribbean vacation since her last vacation closely coincided with the height of her popularity in the state,” added De Luca. “All kidding aside, Governor Perdue has expended almost all of her political capital in support of a series of very unpopular proposals to increase taxes on North Carolina’s citizens and small businesses. Unlike President Obama, Governor Perdue’s personal popularity with voters is not strong enough to overcome the unpopularity of her policy proposals. Her administration’s long term success or failure will rest on whether voters decide they support her decision to raise taxes or they determine she took the easy way out by raising taxes instead of cutting wasteful government spending. Early indications are that voters emphatically oppose her decision to raise taxes.”

The Civitas Poll is the only monthly live-caller poll of critical issues facing North Carolina. For more polling information on Civitas polling, see www.nccivitas.org/media/poll-results/.