A plurality of South Dakotans think the state is headed in the right direction.

Or looked at another way, just over half the respondents polled in the Nielson Brothers Polling/Northern Plains poll in late July think the state is headed in the wrong direction--or they can’t make up their minds.

Just under half (49.8 percent) of the respondents polled July 23-28, 2014, responded that the state was headed in the “right direction.” Over a quarter (28.1 percent), however, said the state was headed in the “wrong direction” with 22.1 percent “undecided.”

NBP asked 618 respondents to reply on their telephone keypad. The margin of error is 3.92 percent.

Nielson Brothers Polling also asked about two current “hot button” issues: immigration and same sex marriage.

NPN graphic used with permission.
NPN graphic used with permission.
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As to immigration, NBP asked 492 respondents if a candidate’s support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would make them more or less likely to vote for that candidate. That poll had a margin of error of 4.42 percent.

Nearly half of the respondents (48.3 percent) said it would make them “less” likely to vote for the candidate, 22.3 percent said it would make them “more” likely to vote for them, 14.6 percent said it made “no difference,” and 14.8 percent were “unsure.”

On same sex marriage, NBP asked 491 respondents if a candidate supported marriage for same sex couples, would they be “more” or “less” likely to vote for that candidate. That poll also had a margin of error of 4.42 percent. Over half of the respondents (51.7 percent) said it would make them “less likely” to vote for that candidate, while 28.8 percent said “more likely,” 16 percent answered “no difference” and 3.5 percent were “unsure.”

"Party affiliation is a major indicator with regard to both issues,” said NBP partner Paul Nielson.

Concerning immigration, only 36.9 percent of Democrats and 11.3 percent of Republicans would be more likely to support a candidate that supports immigration reform.

However, 60.9 percent of Republicans and 36.7 percent of Democrats are more likely to vote against that candidate With regard to same sex marriage, 44.4 percent of Democrats and 15.4 percent of Republicans are more likely to vote for a candidate that supports it.

On the other hand, over two thirds of Republicans (67.4 percent) and around a third of Democrats (34.6 percent) would be “less likely” to vote for a candidate supporting same sex marriage.

NPN graphic used with permission.
NPN graphic used with permission.
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