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For immediate release.
Apr. 28, 2011
Contact: Bryan Warner, N.C. Center for Voter Education, 877-258-6837 or

Poll: Reagan, Hunt Tops with N.C. Voters

RALEIGH – North Carolina voters are most likely to want former President Ronald Reagan and former Gov. Jim Hunt back in office today, according to a new poll commissioned by the nonpartisan N.C. Center for Voter Education.

Among a list of past presidents that includes Bill Clinton, Franklin Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, 45 percent of voters would most want Reagan in the White House now.  Clinton is favored by 30 percent of voters, with 11 percent picking Roosevelt. Lincoln comes in last, at 9 percent. Six percent of voters are unsure.

Reagan receives his strongest support from Republicans, at 82 percent. However, he is also the top pick among independent voters at 29 percent, and is the second-leading choice among Democratic voters at 19 percent, beating out Democrat Franklin Roosevelt, who is the choice of 11 percent of voters within his own party.

Clinton is the top choice of 58 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of independents -- but just 3 percent of Republicans, who are slightly more likely to pick Roosevelt or Lincoln, at 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Lincoln and Roosevelt receive their strongest support from independents, with each getting 20 percent of the vote among this group.

“Frankly, it’s a bit surprising that voters would favor Reagan and Clinton so emphatically over the arguably more iconic Presidents Lincoln and Roosevelt,” said Damon Circosta, executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education. “However, since both Reagan and Clinton served in more contemporary times, perhaps voters feel these presidents could better handle the challenges we currently face. And as most voters experienced the presidencies of Reagan and Clinton, maybe we’re seeing a bit of nostalgia reflected in this poll.”

When asked to choose which of the four most recent North Carolina governors they would want back in office, 36 percent of voters prefer Democrat Jim Hunt. The state’s last Republican governor, Jim Martin, is favored by 15 percent of voters -- the same number that pick Democrat Mike Easley. Jim Holshouser, a Republican who served in the 1970s, is the preference of 7 percent of voters.

When looking at the party affiliation of voters, 45 percent of Democrats and 37 percent of independents would like to see Hunt back in office.  Twenty-six percent of GOP voters favor Hunt -- more than Martin and Holshouser, who garner 23 percent and 11 percent of Republican support, respectively. 

However, 19 percent of Democrats, 29 percent of Republicans and 40 percent of independents are undecided on which former governor they would most want in the Executive Mansion again.

“Given that Governor Hunt served four terms and in many ways created the modern North Carolina governorship, it’s unsurprising that he leads this list,” said Circosta. “What is striking is that one-in-four voters are unsure of which former governor they would most like to see in office today -- perhaps indicative of how many voters have moved to the state in recent years, and as such are not as well versed in North Carolina politics from the past few decades.”

Conducted Apr. 18-20 by Public Policy Polling, the statewide poll of 796 voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Founded in 1999, the N.C. Center for Voter Education is a Raleigh-based nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, dedicated to helping citizens more fully participate in democracy.

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Q. Which former president would you most want running the Oval Office right now: Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, or Bill Clinton?

Abraham Lincoln:  9 percent
Franklin D. Roosevelt: 11 percent
Ronald Reagan: 45 percent
Bill Clinton: 30 percent
Not sure: 6 percent

Q. Which former governor would you most want running North Carolina right now: Jim Holshouser, Jim Hunt, Jim Martin, or Mike Easley?

Jim Holshouser: 7 percent
Jim Hunt: 36 percent
Jim Martin: 15 percent
Mike Easley: 15 percent
Not sure: 27 percent