Exclusive Poll: 74 Percent Believe RI Is Headed In Wrong Direction
Thursday, September 22, 2011
An overwhelming majority of Rhode Islanders feel the state is headed in the wrong direction, according to a GoLocalProv poll released Wednesday.
Fewer than one-in-five (16 percent) believe the state is on the right track, while 74 percent say the state is on the wrong track, a sign voters are still upset with a sputtering economy that has kept the state’s unemployment rate among the highest in the country.
The poll, which was conducted by Starr Opinion Research, asked 403 Rhode Islanders for their opinions on a wide array of topics, ranging from President’s approval numbers to their views on the 1st Congressional District race in 2012. The margin of error for the overall sample was 4.9 percentage points.
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The cynicism of Rhode Islanders is in line with the national trend, with the majority of voters saying job creation should be the number one priority for all elected officials.
Similarly, a national poll conducted by Bloomberg earlier this month found that only 20 percent of voters believe the country is on the right track while 72 percent believe it is headed in the wrong direction.
In Rhode Island, concern about the future of the state was much greater among parents with children in school, with 84 percent saying they believe the state is headed in the wrong direction. Among voters with no kids in school, 70 percent say the state is on the wrong track.
No Surprise
The pessimistic views of Rhode Island voters come as no surprise to Darrell West, Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. and Quest Research Pollster Victor Profughi.
West said this is what happens when you have a high unemployment rate.
“The fact that nearly three-quarters of Rhode Islanders feel the state is headed in the wrong direction jives with the discontent we see all across the country,” West said. “When you have high unemployment, voters are not going to be happy.”
Profughi said there is one question to be asked when so many voters believe the state is headed in the wrong direction.
“No surprise on the direction the state is moving in,” he said. “The really important question is who they blame most.”
RIC Professor: Panic On The State Level
Incumbents on the state level could find themselves in trouble if the outlook on the state doesn’t change over the next 14 months, according to Rhode Island College Professor of Political Communication Valerie Endress.
“Perhaps it is time to panic on the state level,” Endress said. “Incumbents will find it very difficult to spin any narrative that speaks to their accomplishments in an atmosphere in which 74 percent of Rhode Islanders believe the state is headed in the wrong direction. This is part of a longer downward trend, and without economic recovery in sight, it’s unlikely that we’ll see a significant uptick toward more optimism.”
Endress said Rhode Island’s elected officials could be more vulnerable than ever.
“The cynicism that citizens experience on the national level only compounds this problem, and this leaves all Rhode Island incumbents running in 2012 vulnerable—perhaps more vulnerable than we’ve seen in a long time,” she said.
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