About the Poll About the Poll
The Washington Poll is a non-partisan, academic survey research project
sponsored by the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, Race &
Sexuality (WISER), a research center at the University of Washington in the
School of Social Sciences. Dr. Matt Barreto, an Associate Professor of
Political Science is the Director of WISER and principal investigator on this
survey. Dr. Christopher Parker, an Associate Professor of Political Science
is the co-principal investigator of the Washington Poll.
The survey was administered by telephone, by the Washington Survey
Research Center at the UW, based on a randomly selected list of phone
numbers using a publicly available list of registered voters. The survey was
in the field from May 3 – May 23, 2010. A total of 1,252 registered voters
throughout the state of Washington were interviewed, yielding a 2.8%
margin of error. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Most important issue in 2010 elections:
| May 2010 | Oct 2009 | |
| Jobs / Economy | 62% | 31% |
| Health Care Reform | 27% | 25% |
| Taxes | 6% | 21% |
| Gay Rights Related Issues | 3% | 15% |
| Education | 6% | 11% |
| Iraq / Afghanistan / War | 11% | 7% |
| Transportation Related | 2% | 6% |
| Environment Related | 6% | 4% |
Respondents may select up to 2 options, totals do not add up to 100%
Statewide sample = 1,252 registered voters, +/- 2.8%
Do you think things here in Washington state are generally going in
the right direction, or seriously on the wrong track?
| May 2010 | Oct 2009 | |
| Going in the right direction | 41% | 44% |
| Seriously on the wrong track | 44% | 38% |
| Don’t Know | 15% | 16% |
Statewide sample = 1,252 registered voters, +/- 2.8%
Job Approval: Federal
| Obama | Murray | Congress | |
| Strongly Approve | 34% | 26% | 6% |
| Somewhat Approve | 24% | 25% | 24% |
| Somewhat Disapprove | 12% | 13% | 26% |
| Strongly Disapprove | 27% | 21% | 34% |
| No Opinion / Never Heard | 3% | 15% | 10% |
| Total Approve | 58% | 51% | 30% |
| Total Disapprove | 39% | 34% | 60% |
Statewide sample = 1,252 registered voters, +/- 2.8%
Job Approval: State
| Gregoire | McKenna | Legislature | |
| Strongly Approve | 17% | 12% | 4% |
| Somewhat Approve | 27% | 29% | 32% |
| Somewhat Disapprove | 17% | 11% | 23% |
| Strongly Disapprove | 30% | 12% | 20% |
| No Opinion/Never Heard | 9% | 37% | 20% |
| Total Approve | 44% | 41% | 36% |
| Total Disapprove | 47% | 23% | 43% |
Statewide sample = 1,252 registered voters, +/- 2.8%