MASON-DIXON VIRGINIA POLL SEPTEMBER 2017 PART II: CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS 2
VIRGINIANS OPPOSE REMOVAL OF MONUMENTS A majority of Virginia voters oppose removal of Confederate monuments and believe they are an important part of American history. Statewide, 52% oppose removing statues of Confederate generals, such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and 62% oppose removing local monuments to Confederate soldiers who served or died during the war. When asked if they associated these monuments more with American history or with the glorification of racism and resistance to civil rights, 55% said history and 37% said racism. But, a majority of state voters (54%) also support efforts to provide additional interpretation and context to existing Confederate monuments to tell a more inclusive story of their history. Opinion on these issues divides sharply along racial lines. A majority of African- American voters support removal of statues of Confederate leaders (57%) and believe Confederate monuments represent racism and civil rights resistance (65%). However, slightly less than half (49%) support removing statutes honoring common soldiers. But there are also areas of agreement across racial lines. When it comes to expanding the removal of statues to other historical figures, who are not tied to the Confederacy but owned slaves before the Civil War (such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson), opposition is extremely high across the board-- 86% statewide and 77% among black voters. Voters across racial lines also agree that removing the statues is not a good use of public money (67% statewide & 58% among blacks) and that the local governments who decide to remove statutes should be responsible for shouldering the cost (60% statewide & 53% among African-Americans). 3
HOW THE POLL WAS CONDUCTED This poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida from September 10 through September 15, 2017. A total of 625 registered Virginia voters were interviewed statewide by telephone. All stated they were likely to vote in the November general election. Those interviewed were randomly selected from a phone-matched Virginia voter registration list that included both land-line and cell phone numbers. Quotas were assigned to reflect voter turnout by county. The margin for error, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than ± 4 percentage points. This means that there is a 95 percent probability that the "true" figure would fall within that range if all voters were surveyed. The margin for error is higher for any subgroup, such as a gender or age grouping. 4
QUESTION: In the wake of the tragedy in Charlottesville last month, there has been a call for removal of monuments in Virginia that honor Confederate leaders such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Do you support or oppose removal of such monuments? SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED STATE 35% 52% 13% REGION SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Northern Virginia 43% 40% 17% Shenandoah/Piedmont 33% 56% 11% Richmond Metro 36% 51% 13% Hampton Roads 34% 50% 16% Lynchburg/Southside 28% 64% 8% Roanoke/Southwest 26% 67% 7% SEX SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Men 30% 59% 11% Women 39% 46% 15% AGE SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED <50 40% 47% 13% 50+ 31% 56% 13% RACE SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED White 29% 58% 13% Black 57% 29% 14% PARTY ID SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Democrat 59% 22% 19% Republican 16% 79% 5% Independent 24% 62% 14% 5
QUESTION: Throughout Virginia, there are also monuments in cities and towns honoring Confederate units and common soldiers from those regions who served in the Civil War. Many specifically honor those who died in the war. Do you support or oppose removal of these monuments? SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED STATE 24% 62% 14% REGION SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Northern Virginia 32% 46% 22% Shenandoah/Piedmont 17% 69% 14% Richmond Metro 27% 63% 10% Hampton Roads 31% 53% 16% Lynchburg/Southside 12% 82% 6% Roanoke/Southwest 12% 83% 5% SEX SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Men 21% 67% 12% Women 27% 58% 15% AGE SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED <50 29% 54% 17% 50+ 20% 68% 12% RACE SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED White 17% 70% 13% Black 49% 35% 16% PARTY ID SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Democrat 30% 49% 21% Republican 13% 80% 7% Independent 15% 71% 14% 6
QUESTION: Which one of the following statements comes closer to your view: (ORDER ROTATED) - Confederate monuments are an important part of American history - Confederate monuments glorify racism and resistance to civil rights HISTORY RACISM NOT SURE STATE 55% 37% 8% REGION HISTORY RACISM NOT SURE Northern Virginia 33% 58% 9% Shenandoah/Piedmont 65% 26% 9% Richmond Metro 57% 36% 7% Hampton Roads 55% 35% 10% Lynchburg/Southside 67% 28% 5% Roanoke/Southwest 78% 17% 5% SEX HISTORY RACISM NOT SURE Men 59% 33% 8% Women 52% 40% 8% AGE HISTORY RACISM NOT SURE <50 46% 41% 13% 50+ 62% 34% 4% RACE HISTORY RACISM NOT SURE White 66% 29% 5% Black 18% 65% 17% PARTY ID HISTORY RACISM NOT SURE Democrat 23% 66% 11% Republican 90% 7% 3% Independent 59% 32% 9% 7
QUESTION: Although the removal of these monuments has generated considerable media attention, less attention has been paid on the cost of removing and storing these monuments, which often costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. Do you think this is or is not good use of government money? YES, IT IS NO, IT IS NOT NOT SURE STATE 24% 67% 9% REGION YES, IT IS NO, IT IS NOT NOT SURE Northern Virginia 31% 55% 14% Shenandoah/Piedmont 23% 73% 4% Richmond Metro 24% 66% 10% Hampton Roads 26% 64% 10% Lynchburg/Southside 16% 76% 8% Roanoke/Southwest 13% 81% 6% SEX YES, IT IS NO, IT IS NOT NOT SURE Men 19% 73% 8% Women 29% 62% 9% AGE YES, IT IS NO, IT IS NOT NOT SURE <50 27% 65% 8% 50+ 22% 68% 10% RACE YES, IT IS NO, IT IS NOT NOT SURE White 23% 73% 4% Black 29% 58% 13% PARTY ID YES, IT IS NO, IT IS NOT NOT SURE Democrat 37% 46% 17% Republican 13% 84% 3% Independent 19% 77% 4% 8
QUESTION: Do you think that local governments that decide to move Confederate monuments do or do not have an obligation to pay for moving them to other locations, like museums? YES, THEY DO NO, THEY DO NOT NOT SURE STATE 60% 27% 13% REGION YES, THEY DO NO, THEY DO NOT NOT SURE Northern Virginia 55% 34% 11% Shenandoah/Piedmont 56% 31% 13% Richmond Metro 63% 25% 12% Hampton Roads 58% 25% 17% Lynchburg/Southside 65% 23% 12% Roanoke/Southwest 69% 18% 13% SEX YES, THEY DO NO, THEY DO NOT NOT SURE Men 62% 24% 14% Women 58% 29% 13% AGE YES, THEY DO NO, THEY DO NOT NOT SURE <50 54% 33% 13% 50+ 65% 22% 13% RACE YES, THEY DO NO, THEY DO NOT NOT SURE White 62% 25% 13% Black 53% 35% 12% PARTY ID YES, THEY DO NO, THEY DO NOT NOT SURE Democrat 59% 29% 12% Republican 66% 24% 10% Independent 56% 26% 18% 9
QUESTION: Do you support or oppose efforts to provide additional interpretation and context to existing Confederate monuments to tell a more inclusive story of their history? SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED STATE 54% 32% 14% REGION SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Northern Virginia 55% 32% 13% Shenandoah/Piedmont 52% 37% 11% Richmond Metro 49% 37% 14% Hampton Roads 52% 29% 19% Lynchburg/Southside 58% 31% 11% Roanoke/Southwest 59% 27% 14% SEX SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Men 52% 35% 13% Women 56% 29% 15% AGE SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED <50 50% 31% 19% 50+ 57% 33% 10% RACE SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED White 60% 27% 13% Black 34% 47% 19% PARTY ID SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Democrat 45% 39% 16% Republican 58% 26% 16% Independent 62% 29% 9% 10
QUESTION: In addition to Confederate monuments, there has also been talk about removing monuments to other historic American figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, because they owned slaves. Do you support or oppose removal of monuments to other American historical figures? SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED STATE 7% 86% 7% REGION SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Northern Virginia 12% 77% 11% Shenandoah/Piedmont 4% 91% 5% Richmond Metro 4% 87% 9% Hampton Roads 7% 90% 3% Lynchburg/Southside 6% 87% 7% Roanoke/Southwest 3% 93% 4% SEX SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Men 3% 90% 7% Women 10% 83% 7% AGE SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED <50 10% 82% 8% 50+ 5% 89% 6% RACE SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED White 5% 89% 6% Black 12% 77% 11% PARTY ID SUPPORT OPPOSE UNDECIDED Democrat 12% 75% 13% Republican 3% 97% - Independent 5% 88% 7% 11
DEMOGRAPHICS PARTY REGISTRATION: Democrat 246 (39%) Republican 198 (32%) Independent or Other 181 (29%) AGE: 18-34 114 (18%) 35-49 164 (26%) 50-64 194 (31%) 65+ 147 (24%) Refused 6 (1%) RACE/ETHNICITY: White/Caucasian 435 (70%) Black/African American 117 (19%) Hispanic 35 (6%) Other 27 (3%) Refused 11 (2%) SEX: Male 299 (48%) Female 326 (52%) REGION: Northern Virginia 170 (27%) Shenandoah/Piedmont 95 (15%) Richmond Metro 90 (14%) Hampton Roads 125 (20%) Lynchburg/Southside 75 (12%) Roanoke/Southwest 70 (11%) 12
VIRGINIA POLL REGIONS NORTHERN VIRGINIA: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and the independent cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park. SHENANDOAH/PIEDMONT: Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George, Caroline, Louisa, Fluvanna, Albemarle, Nelson, Greene, Orange, Madison, Culpepper, Fauquier, Rappahannock, Clarke, Frederick, Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rockingham, Augusta and Rockbridge counties and the independent cities of Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Winchester, Waynesboro, Staunton, Buena Vista and Lexington. RICHMOND METRO: Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Powhatan, Goochland, New Kent and Charles City counties and the independent cities of Richmond and Colonial Heights. HAMPTON ROADS: Accomack, Northampton, Northumberland, Westmoreland, Lancaster, Middlesex, Mathews, Richmond, Essex, King & Queen, King William, Gloucester, James City and York counties and the independent cities of Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Suffolk. LYNCHBURG/SOUTHSIDE: Isle of Wight, Sussex, Surry, Southampton, Greensville, Dinwiddie, Prince George, Brunswick, Mecklenburg, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Amelia, Prince Edward, Cumberland, Buckingham, Appomattox, Amherst, Campbell, Charlotte, Halifax, Pittsylvania, Henry, Franklin and Bedford counties and the independent cities of Petersburg, Hopewell, Franklin, Emporia, Danville, Martinsville, Lynchburg and Bedford. ROANOKE/SOUTHWEST: Highland, Bath, Alleghany, Botetourt, Roanoke, Craig, Montgomery, Floyd, Patrick, Giles, Pulaski, Carroll, Grayson, Wythe, Bland, Tazewell, Smyth, Washington, Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell, Wise, Scott and Lee counties and the independent cities of Roanoke, Salem, Radford, Covington, Galax, Norton and Bristol. 13