According to the most recent Millsaps College/Chism Strategies State of the State Survey, nine in ten Mississippi voters are united in their support for background checks for all firearm purchases in the state. Huge majorities also agree that the opioid addiction crisis is a serious national problem.
Overall, 90% of Mississippi voters told the survey that they support required background checks, while 92% think that opioid addiction is a serious problem in the nation; 86% believe it is a serious problem that needs to be addressed in the state itself.\
“Mississippi voters are split on the question of the state’s direction just a few weeks before the elections that will determine who holds all of the statewide offices and every single seat in the legislature,” said Dr. Nathan R. Shrader, chair of the Department of Government and Politics and director of American Studies at Millsaps College. “The fall 2019 State of the State Survey also finds that voters are only mildly enthusiastic about the crucial November elections, with just over half saying they are enthusiastic. We also examined questions related to immigration and the recent ICE raids in the state, attitudes towards retailers shifting their stances on firearms being brought into their stores, and voting reforms.”
Other key findings from the fall 2019 State of the State Survey are as follows:
- Just 33% of voters believe the state as a whole is heading in the right direction, but that number improves to nearly 40% when voters are asked to consider their own area of Mississippi.
- Voters were asked to “grade” Governor Phil Bryant on his eight years in office: 22% say he deserves an A, 22% give him a B, 21% provide him with a C, 14% give him a D, and 17% award him an F.
- Mississippi voters are split on whether their consumer behavior will change as a result of retailers asking customers to refrain from openly carrying firearms inside their establishments or if they decide to stop selling certain kinds of military-style ammunition and ammunition for handguns.
- President Trump’s tariff policies are supported by 46% of Mississippi voters and opposed by 41%.
- About 92% agree that opioid addiction is a problem in the country as a whole, while 86% say this is a problem here in Mississippi.
- 55% of voters embrace moving to a “jungle” or top-two primary system where all candidates of all parties run together on the same ballot with the top two advancing to a runoff; just 23% oppose such a change.
- Mississippi voters are skeptical of ranked choice voting and eliminating primary runoff elections all together.
Nearly half of Mississippi voters report that they favor allowing individuals who are in the United States without legal authorization to remain if they are employed, pay their taxes, and do not have a criminal record. Just over 39% say that those who are here without legal authorization should be arrested and deported without exceptions. Despite the differences on this question, nearly 70% of Mississippi voters agree that the businesses that were hiring those without legal authorization to be in the United States should also face prosecution, compared to just 16% who oppose such actions.
SOTS Survey Sept 2019 (Final) by yallpolitics on Scribd
Sarah Ulmer
