As promised, we are releasing the full results of our recent polling with Gray Television through Cygnal. ADN Insiders have access to it all: the toplines, the crosstabs and the special slide deck prepared by Cygnal (all the way at the bottom).
On the issue of school choice, GOP voters were open to the idea of enacting a voucher-type program to allow parents to use taxpayer funds to send their children to private schools. Asked about such a proposal, 59.2% of Republican voters said they’d either strongly or somewhat support it.
Asked if they would support a proposal to institute a state lottery, expand casino gambling and legalize sports betting, 71% of Republican voters said they’d either strongly or somewhat support it.
The poll from Cygnal surveyed 515 likely Republican primary voters and has a margin for error 4.31%.
The poll also tested the idea of using federal Medicaid expansion dollars to fund a public-private partnership that would give access to health insurance to as many as 200,000 of the state’s uninsured population. Alabama Daily News this week reported that such a proposal is being discussed by state leaders.
While still a new idea, a full 45.5% of Republican voters said they’d support it, while 25% said they’d oppose it and 18.7% said they remain unsure.
The poll also showed significant support for many of the state’s Republican leaders. Gov. Kay Ivey continues to enjoy impressive numbers with a total favorable rating of 75.6%, up from 70.1% in May of 2022.
Former President and current GOP frontrunner Donald Trump continues to have strong support in the Yellowhammer State, but a bit less than in May 2022. Nearly 55% of respondents had a “very favorable” opinion of him last month, compared to 57.1% in May 2022.
First-term U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, who spent much of last year in the national news cycle has he delayed military promotions in protest of the Department of Defense’s policy that allows travel for abortions, has a total favorable rating of 63.3% and a total unfavorable of 25.7%
First term U.S. Sen. Katie Britt gets high marks from Republican voters. Almost 66% say they have a favorable view of Britt, while just 15% view her unfavorably. With reports surfacing that Trump could select Britt as a vice presidential nominee, the survey tested how open to that idea Alabama Republicans are. Just about half said they were favorable to the idea while 32.3% said they’d be unfavorable to the idea.
The poll also asked about two likely 2026 candidates for governor, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth and Attorney General Steve Marshall. Both were close in total favorable ratings, 33.4% and 36.9%, respectively. Meanwhile nearly 30% of respondents said they’d never heard of either man.
Finally, the poll tested voters thoughts on what really matters in Alabama: college football. Breaking down the fan bases, 55.1% said they are Alabama fans, while 25.8% said they were Auburn fans.
Of those Alabama fans, 62.6% said they approved of the recent hire of Kalen DBoer to replace Nick Saban as head football coach, while just 4.3% disapproved.
On the Auburn side, 54.6% approve of the way Hugh Freeze is handling his job as head football coach one year into his tenure, while just 6.6%% said they disapprove.
See the full toplines from Cygnal here: 21588 ADN-AL (Jan’24)-Crosstabs
See the full slide deck with expert analysis here:21588 ADN-AL-Deck(2)
See the full poll crosstabs here 21588 ADN-AL (Jan’24)-Toplines