64% Say Georgia Is Headed In Right Direction: Second Perdue Term Starts With High Marks

(1/30/07) An InsiderAdvantage/ Majority Opinion Survey conducted Jan 24-26 indicates that nearly two-thirds of adult Georgians believe that the state is headed in "the right direction." The survey of 500 adult Georgians was weighted for age, race, gender, and political affiliation. Margin of error +/- 4%

Q. Do you believe Georgia as a state is headed generally in the right direction or the wrong direction?

Right Direction: 64%
Wrong Direction: 28%
Don't know/Undecided: 8%

InsiderAdvantage's Matt Towery: "This is obviously god news for Governor Perdue, the GOP-controlled legislature, and all incumbents. Respondents (in other polling) indicate that they are confident in Georgia's economy and generally have few pressing issues that they consider of dire importance. These numbers fly starkly in the face of some national polling trends in which Americans feel that as a nation, America is headed in the wrong direction. But in "the sunny South," states such as Georgia and Florida continue to buck the trend.

The flip side of this news is that issues which may need addressing such as transportation and healthcare simply are not receiving the degree of public concern that those advocating change or action would like to see.

As a consequence, you will likely to continue to see the legislature and the governor take a cautious position on these "big ticket" items which can often boomerang, one such example being former Gov. Roy Barnes' flirtation with a "northern arc" for transportation during his term in office.

Most experts now believe Barnes' efforts to aggressively address problems contributed to his defeat. Perdue has a more subdued approach and is more reluctant to weigh-in publicly on issues not generated within his own administration. For example, advocates of several transportation proposals simply cannot get an answer from the governor as to where he stands. There's a likely reason for that: Perdue recognizes that there is neither a public outcry for major overhaul nor a cohesive plan to address the issue. From these numbers, it look s as if the governor and legislature's "steady as she goes" approach is working with the public."