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Poll: Southerners Want Federal Help, Fear for Jobs

“Neither side should be fully happy with these results,” Huffmon said.

The Winthrop Poll also found a sizable number of people who weren’t decided on a national health care overhaul, the nation’s biggest ongoing political and policy debate. Southerners were asked if they’d call on their federal legislators to vote for or against the legislation. Just under a third said they would encourage a vote for the bill and 42 percent said they’d encourage a vote against it.

However, a quarter had no opinion. “That ought to be a stunning finding given how much information has been put out there about the health care debate,” Huffmon said.

President Barack Obama mostly faired well in poll, with 84 percent saying he was good communicator, 76 percent that he was warm and friendly and 54 percent that he was trustworthy, a question that broke sharply along partisan lines.

More than 61 percent said Obama “cared about like people like me,” including 51 percent of white males.

The Winthrop Poll involved randomly dialed land and cellular telephone interviews with 886 people 18 and older in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The interviews were conducted between Oct. 24 and Nov. 7. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percent.

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