The Winthrop Poll, also known as the "Winthrop University Poll," is a long-term survey initiative conducted by Winthrop University's Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research (CPOPR).[1][2] It informs public policy makers and the general public about the attitudes and opinions of citizens in the state of South Carolina and the southern region of the United States. During the 2020 US Democratic primary, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) designated the Winthrop Poll as one of the threshold polls used to qualify presidential candidates for debates.[3][4] Topics of the poll typically include political candidates and politically relevant issues.[1] Results of the poll are cited regularly by national and international news organizations such as Time (magazine),[5] Politico,[6] The Hill,[7] the BBC,[1] Washington Post,[8] MSNBC,[9] and CNN.[10]

The Social and Behavioral Research Lab at Winthrop, which originally conducted the poll, was a charter member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.[11]

History

Professor Scott Huffmon began the polling initiative in 2002 as part of a Winthrop University “Scope and Methods” research class.[1] The first intrastate polling was conducted in 2003 and the first statewide poll took place in 2006.

In 2019, the CPOPR received over three million dollars in grants from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to support social behavior and health research.[12][13]

Criticism

Some have criticized the poll for being inaccurate[14] or questionable.[15] However, the poll's director, Scott Huffmon, has defended the methodology used.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Byrd, Caitlin (9 June 2019). "How the Winthrop Poll became SC's barometer for tracking politicians and public opinion". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  2. ↑ Miller, Monica K.; Blumenthal, Jeremy A.; Chamberlain, Jared, eds. (18 November 2014). Handbook of Community Sentiment. Springer. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-4939-1899-7.
  3. ↑ "DNC Announces Qualification Criteria For Nevada Democratic Presidential Primary Debate". Democrats. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  4. ↑ "DNC unveils qualifications for last Democratic debate ahead of South Carolina primary". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  5. ↑ "S.C. Presidential Straw Poll Leaves Out Lindsey Graham". Time. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  6. ↑ Schultheis, Emily (12 May 2013). "Haley's rocky governorship". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  7. ↑ Axelrod, Tal. "Biden has 20-point lead in South Carolina primary: poll". The Hill.
  8. ↑ Rogers, Ed. "Opinion | Evangelical Christians should not vote for Donald Trump". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  9. ↑ "Poll answers the 'What happened to Lindsey Graham?' question". MSNBC. 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  10. ↑ Landers, Elizabeth (30 September 2015). "Poll: Tim Scott more popular than Lindsey Graham in S.C." CNN. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  11. ↑ "Current Members - AAPOR". www.aapor.org. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  12. ↑ Harris, Amanda (2019-01-28). "How healthy are U.S. citizens? Winthrop to research issue with $3M from SC". The Herald.
  13. ↑ "Winthrop awarded $3.4 million for health research". palmetto report. 2019-02-17. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  14. ↑ FITSNews (12 April 2017). "Winthrop's Poll Is Becoming A Joke". Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  15. 1 2 "Huffmon defends Winthrop Poll after attacks from SCGOP". Interstate 107. 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
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