Easley Beats Liddy in Head to Wig Poll

We have more polling goodness coming our way tonight from Public Policy Polling. They polled 501 registered voters on January 22, 2007. Their release says these are "likely general election voters".

They polled on approval ratings for our governor and senators as well as approval ratings for the war in Iraq. We will also get to see how a hypothetical meeting between He-Who-Refuses-To-Run and Empty Wig would end up.

Easley wins the popularity contest hands down. He has a 50% approval rating compared to 36% for Dole and 32% for Burr.

North Carolinians do not like Bush's plan to escalate death and dismemberment in Iraq. A surprisingly high 57% of those polled do not approve of the plan.

Finally, in a head to wig hypothetical race, Easley beats Dole 44% to 41%. I wonder if Governor Easley is paying attention?

For more information on this poll including all the crosstab goodness please go here. (PDF)

Introducing Public Policy Polling

Many of us remember Public Policy Polling as the group that provided some encouraging polls for both Larry Kissell and Heath Shuler. Today, PPP has released some early polls on the primary races for governor and president here in NC. We're so happy they've decided to share - at least I am.

The best news is that this isn't a one-time thing. According to their press release there's more in store for those of us who love real polls.

As we begin a new year, a new legislative session and a new campaign season, PPP is rededicating itself to tracking issue trends, campaign match-ups and approval ratings. you can expect more poll data and more expert analysis on all aspects of North Carolina politics and government.

What is Public Policy Polling? To find out more about Public Policy Polling and owner, Dean Debnam, just read this great piece from Bob Geary in The Independent Weekly.

There are plenty of folks working hard to put together and execute the polls, so a great big thanks to all of them for their hard work. My contact - our contact - is our very own justing. He is Justin Guillory and is a visitor here at BlueNC. I hope we will find him gracing our site a little more often.

Please keep in mind when reading the polls that their data is based on real people giving responses to questions. You might not agree with the data, but that doesn't make the poll wrong or bad. We are lucky PPP has decided to make more of its data available.

To the polls.....:

2008 Democratic Primary

Currently the data shows a plurality of voters still undecided when asked who they would support for president and for governor. Currently Edwards leads the pack of Democrats, but 40% are undecided. Perdue leads Moore with 41% undecided. You can see all the data here. (PDF)

2008 Republican Primary

Currently, data shows more Republicans have decided which candidate they will support in the primary and it's a squeaker with Giuliani leading the pack. Fewer have made a decision about their pick for governor, but Graham is leading the way in this one with a plurality undecided. You will find that data here.

I hope you will enjoy the polls and I hope you will welcome justing when he finds time to visit again. Public Policy Polling is local and with their transparency as to methodology I feel confident we will have fun with their polls over the coming election cycle.