In the state of South Carolina where a Democratic nominee for President has not won since Jimmy Carter in 1976, a new Gravis Marketing poll indicates the race may be quite close with President Donald Trump leading former Vice President Joe Biden by four points, 50%-46%.  Biden holds a 74-point lead among black voters in the state, while Trump wins the white vote by 35 points.  The gender gap gives Biden a 51%-47% advantage among women, while Trump holds a 53%-41% advantage among men. 

Looking at the Senate race, Lindsey Graham has the advantage, but only holds a 7-point lead compared to the 15.5 points he won re-election by in 2014. Graham’s expanded lead over Donald Trump is despite winning white voters by a slightly smaller 31-point margin.  Graham, however, gets the black vote deficit down to 53 points, the female vote down to a 2-point deficit and wins the male vote by an extra 5 points. Graham benefits from a 50% approval rating in the state compared to a 42% disapproval mark. Voters are split over the relationship between Graham and Trump with 36% of voters believing that Graham is “too close” to President Trump compared to 21% saying “about right” and 6% saying “not close enough.”  A 37% plurality of voters indicate that they are uncertain. 

The Gravis poll finds junior Senator Tim Scott quite popular with a 60% approval rating with only 28% disapproving of the job he is doing as Senator. Governor McMaster receives a 52%-41% approval split. 53% of voters indicate that they approve of the job Donald Trump is doing as President, while 44% of voters disapprove. 

Voters are split 43%-40% over whether they support schools reopening this fall for in-person instruction. When asked if reopening schools will lead to an increase in coronavirus-related deaths, 46% indicate they believe that will be that result, while 34% do not. In response to the rise in coronavirus cases in the state, voters were asked about who they feel is responsible.  27% indicate that they believe the president is responsible, while 11% indicate they blame the Governor.  23% of respondents blame protestors while 10% indicate local officials and 21% say “no one in particular.” 

This poll was conducted by Gravis Marketing, a nonpartisan research and data firm. This poll of 604 registered, likely voters in South Carolina was conducted on July 17^th and has a margin of error of ±4.0%. This survey was conducted using interactive voice responses and an online panel of cell phone users.  This poll was not commissioned by any campaign committee or other organization and was paid for by Gravis Marketing.  Results are weighted by voting demographics.  Telephone townhall Questions can be directed to the managing partner of Gravis Marketing, Doug Kaplan.

South Carolina (July 17, 2020) gravis Marketing by Doug Kaplan on Scribd

Cross Tabs SC gravis Matketing by Doug Kaplan on Scribd

Cross Tabs SC gravis Matketing by Doug Kaplan on Scribd

New polling from Gravis Marketing in a state President Trump narrowly carried in 2016 has former Vice President Joe Biden with a wide 10-point lead over President Trump. Biden’s lead is fueled by his 27-point advantage among independent voters.  Biden holds 86% of self-identified Democrats and Trump holds 83% of Republicans. Notably, Biden pulls over some voters who say they approve of the job Donald Trump is doing as President.  12% of those who somewhat approve and 11% of those who strongly approve of the president’s job performance chose Joe Biden in the ballot question. While Trump does take 22% of those who somewhat disapprove of his job performance, he only takes 1% of those who strongly disapprove. Overall, 49% of respondents indicate that they approve of the job Donald Trump is doing as President, while 51% disapprove and 1% indicate that they are uncertain.  (due to rounding, these numbers do not add up to 100%)

When asked about the job performance of Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, likely voters approve of his performance 50%-46%.  Junior Senator Rick Scott receives a 45%-46% approval rating and Marco Rubio is at 47%-42%. Approval ratings among self-identified independents only are 30%-70% for Trump, 37%-60% for DeSantis, 28%-56% for Scott and 30%-54% for Rubio. 

A series of questions on COVID-19 were asked in light of the recent surge in cases throughout the state of Florida.  56% of voters indicate that they believe Florida has been reopening “too quickly” while 27% say “just right” and only 11% indicate “too slowly.”  There  is a partisan split in those who say that the state has reopened too quickly (77% of Democrats and 32% of Republicans) ad not quickly enough (5% of Democrats, 11% of independents and 17% of Republicans).  When asked about the blame for the recent case surge, 33% blame President Trump, 21% blame Governor DeSantis, 24% blame protestors, 7% blame other local officials and 10% say “no one in particular.”

Voters in Florida are broadly in favor of a statewide mandate requiring that masks be worn in public.  73% support and 20% oppose such a measure. 87% of Democrats support a mandate as do 74% of independents and 59% of Republicans. 

This poll was conducted by Gravis Marketing, a nonpartisan research and data firm. This poll of 529 registered, likely voters in Florida was conducted on July 13^th and has a margin of error of ±4.3%. This survey was conducted using interactive voice responses and an online panel of sms cell phone users.  This poll was not commissioned by any campaign committee or other organization and was paid for by Gravis Marketing.  Results are weighted by voting demographics.  Questions can be directed to the managing partner of Gravis Marketing, Doug Kaplan.

Florida (July 13, 2020) by Doug Kaplan on Scribd