Voters Sharply Divided
Over Proposed Narragansett Indian Casino
A statewide survey of 477 voters conducted
The
survey was conducted
On
the Narragansett proposal to build a gambling casino in
If the presidential general election were held today,
John Kerry holds a substantial margin over George W. Bush. Forty-nine percent indicate they would vote
for Kerry, compared to 25 percent who say they would vote for Bush, 5 percent
who would support Independent Ralph Nader, and 21 percent are undecided. In February, 2004, before Nader announced his
candidacy, Kerry held a 53 to 31 percent lead over Bush.
When
asked about the job performance of various public officials, 60 percent feel
Governor Donald Carcieri is doing a good job (down from 63 percent last
February). Forty-four percent believe
Lieutenant Governor Charles Fogarty is doing a good job (up from 42
percent). Forty percent think Attorney
General Patrick Lynch is doing a good job, down from the 42 percent who felt that
way in our last survey. Twenty-eight
percent feel Secretary of State Matt Brown is doing a good job, down from 30
percent. Thirty-nine percent believe
Treasurer Paul Tavares is doing a good job, up from 37 percent last time. Sixty-one percent say Providence Mayor David
Cicilline is doing a good job, down from 64 percent. Sixteen percent rate the job performance of
Senate President Joseph Montelbano as good or excellent (up from 15 percent)
and 22 percent rate the performance of House Speaker William Murphy as good or
excellent, up from 19 percent.
President
George Bush's support within the state has dropped. In this month's survey, 31 percent feel he is
going a good or excellent job, down from 36 percent who rated his job
performance good or excellent the last time.
Sixty-three percent rate the performance of Senator Jack Reed good or
excellent, down from 64 percent in the previous survey. Fifty-six percent believe Senator Lincoln
Chafee is doing a good job, up from 52 percent.
Fifty-six percent feel Congressman James Langevin is doing a good job
(the same as last time) and 42 percent believe Congressman Patrick Kennedy is
doing a good job (down from 45 percent approval in February).
Fifty-four
percent believe the state is headed in the right direction, while 33 percent
feel it is off on the wrong track. Last
February, 64 percent believed the state was headed in the right direction and
24 percent stated that the state was headed off on the wrong track.
Our Index of Consumer
Sentiment for
For
more information, contact Darrell M. West at (401) 863-1163. A copy of the press release outlining survey
results can be found at www.InsidePolitics.org.
Survey Questions and
Responses
If the presidential general election were held today,
would you vote for: 25% Republican
George W. Bush, 49% Democrat John Kerry, 5% Independent Ralph Nader, 21% don't
know or no answer
We are interested in how people are getting along
financially these days. Would you say
that you (and your family living there) are:
33% better off, 35% worse off financially than you were a year ago, 32%
don't know or no answer
Now looking ahead--do you think that a year from now you
(and your family living there) will be:
26% better off financially, 10% worse off, 50% just about the same as
now, 14% don't know or no answer
Now turning to business conditions in the state as a
whole--do you think that during the next twelve months we'll have: 35% good times financially, 34% bad times,
31% don't know or no answer
Looking ahead, which would you say is more likely--that
in the state as a whole: 34% we'll have
continuous good times during the next five years or so, 38% that we will have
periods of widespread unemployment or depression, or what, 28% don't know or no
answer
About the big things people buy for their homes--such as
furniture, a refrigerator, stove, television, and things like that. Generally speaking, do you think now is
a: 54% good, 23% bad time for people to buy
major household items, 23% don't know or no answer
How would you rate the job George W. Bush is doing as
president? 6% excellent, 25% good, 30% only fair, 36% poor, 3% don't know or no
answer
How would you rate the job Jack Reed is doing as
How would you rate the job Lincoln Chafee is doing as
U.S. Senator? 11% excellent, 45% good
22% only fair, 7% poor, 15% don't know or no answer
How would you rate the job Patrick Kennedy is doing as
U.S. Representative? 6% excellent, 36%
good, 28% only fair, 17% poor, 13% don't know or no answer
How would you rate the job Jim Langevin is doing as U.S.
Representative? 10% excellent, 46% good, 18% only fair, 2% poor, 24% don't know
or no answer
How would you rate the job Don Carcieri is doing as
governor? 18% excellent, 42% good, 23% only fair, 11% poor, 6% don't know or no
answer
How would you rate the job Charles Fogarty is doing as
lieutenant governor? 8% excellent, 36% good, 17% only fair, 3% poor, 36% don't
know or no answer
How would you rate the job Patrick Lynch is doing as
attorney general? 3% excellent, 37% good, 31% only fair, 12% poor, 17% don't
know or no answer
How would you rate the job Matt Brown is doing as
secretary of state? 2% excellent, 26% good, 19% only fair, 3% poor, 50% don't
know or no answer
How would you rate the job Paul Tavares is doing as
general treasurer? 4% excellent, 35% good, 18% only fair, 2% poor, 41% don't
know or no answer
How would you rate the job Joseph Montelbano is doing as
Senate President? 2% excellent, 14% good, 18% only fair, 10% poor, 56% don't
know or no answer
How would you rate the job William Murphy is doing as
Speaker of the House? 1% excellent, 21% good, 22% only fair, 8% poor, 48% don't know or no answer
How would you rate the job David Cicilline is doing as
mayor of
Generally speaking, would you say things in
There
has been a proposal by the Narragansett Indian tribe to build a gambling casino
in
Do
you believe a gambling casino would benefit the
Do
you believe a gambling casino would create more gambling addicts? 51% yes, 41%
no, 8% don’t know or no answer
Do
you think a gambling casino would reduce the revenues the state gets from
Would
it worry you if an out-of-state corporation in the gambling industry financed
the construction of this casino? 45% yes, 44% no, 11% don’t know or no answer