Overall, residents of South Carolina remain split mostly down the middle on all things revolving around the Trump administration, according to the latest Winthrop poll.
But, just as in previous polls, the roughly 50/50 split present in the state overall masks deep divides by political party. On multiple topics – Trump’s handling of the economy, tariffs, immigration, the direction of the country – between 70% and 90% of Republicans approve of President Trump, while between 10% and 25% of Democrats agree.
On immigration, 56% of Republicans said the biggest problem is letting immigrants who are in the country illegally stay in the U.S. For Democrats, 71% said the biggest problem with immigration is the deportation of legal immigrants.
The parties split almost to those exact shares on the issue of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador, despite a federal court ordering Trump to bring him back. More than half of Republicans said that Gacia should not be brought back, most Democrats said that he should be.
Where Democrats and Republicans do agree is that an immigrant’s willingness to speak English shows a willingness to assimilate. Left and right also agreed that opioid addiction is the most serious problem in the country; respondents mostly ranked the issue first among problems listed.
Left and right also agreed that difficulty voting is the country’s least serious issue, as each side ranked the issue last.
An equal share – about 55% -- of Republicans and Democrats said their party represents their beliefs well, but fewer than one in three said their party represents them “excellently.”
Scott Huffmon, the poll’s director, said, “It is notable that only minorities of people who identify as both Democrats and Republicans feel that their party does an excellent job of representing their beliefs. This number would certainly be higher among likely voters. Majorities of general population partisans feel that their party could do a better job representing them.”
A third of respondents said that a neutral party would best represent them.
Statewide, about four in 10 South Carolinians said that the state is heading in the right direction. The same share said that they approve of Gov. Henry McMaster and Sen. Tim Scott, both Republicans. Thirty-four percent said they approve of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Republicans strongly prefer each of these officials. Democrats strongly disapprove of Graham, but were split roughly down the middle over McMaster and Scott.
The full May Winthrop Poll is published HERE.