Gallup has just released their annual “State of the States” survey, which polls Americans’ views on politics, culture, religion and numerous other areas of interest. The survey randomly sampled 178,527 adults living in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
The sample size is enormous, which gives a lower-than-average margin of error (±1 nationally, ±3 in most states). However, because the sample size is so large, the survey was taken over the course of a year and doesn’t provide an exact snapshot of where public opinion stands right this moment.
So here’s what Gallup found out about the nation as a whole in 2013:
% Approve of Obama: 46.5
% Disapprove of Obama: 46.4
% Republican or lean Republican: 39.1
% Democrat / lean Democrat: 44.2
Democrat advantage: 5.1
% Conservative: 36.8
% Moderate: 36.6
% Liberal: 22.2
Conservative advantage: 14.6
Interestingly, conservatives hold a wide, 14.6 percent margin over liberals, but Democrats hold a 5.1 percent advantage over Republicans. There was only a slight change from 2012, when 39% identified themselves as conservatives (-2), 35% moderate (+1) and 22% liberal (0%).
Wyoming, Mississippi, Idaho, Utah, and Montana were the top five conservatives states, according to Gallup. The top five liberal areas in 2013 were Washington, D.C. (shocker), Vermont, Massachusetts, Delaware, and New York.
Only the District of Columbia, Vermont, Massachusetts and Hawaii have more self-identified liberals than conservatives. To Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s chagrin, even New York has more self-identified conservatives (29.3%) than liberals (28.2). Moderates are the largest group in 20 states.
So what did Gallup find out about Alabama?
Alabama has the tenth largest percentage of conservatives, 44.7 percent, which is probably a little lower ranking than most people would expect. We also have the seventh lowest percentage of liberals (16%) and the twelfth lowest percentage of moderates (34.7%). That means conservatives in Alabama hold a massive 28.7% advantage over liberals.
Here’s the entire breakdown of Alabama’s political leanings:
% Approve of Obama: 37.3
% Disapprove of Obama: 56.3
% Republican or lean Republican: 48.5
% Democrat / lean Democrat: 37.6
Republican advantage: 10.9
% Conservative: 44.7
% Moderate: 34.7
% Liberal: 16.0
Conservative advantage: 28.7
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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