The Winthrop Poll is a long-term survey initiative designed to keep public policy
makers across the country in touch with the attitudes and opinions of citizens in
South Carolina and the entire southern region. It also serves to inform South Carolinians,
and southerners as a whole, of the opinions and views of their neighbors.
It is the only regular "snapshot" of public policy attitudes of the residents of the
state of South Carolina and the South as a region. The survey methodology of the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research has been vetted by top news organizations and their polling experts. The results
have been covered by national and international news organizations including:
Trained interviewers administer the polls in the telephone survey research lab on campus. Results are shared with media, citizens, and public officials to help public policy makers across the country stay in touch with the attitudes and opinions of not only South Carolinians but also of those across the region and to track those opinions over time. The Social & Behavioral Research Lab first began intrastate polling in 2003. The first statewide poll took place in fall 2006. In addition to statewide polls, the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research has become a leading regional polling entity with several Winthrop Polls focusing on the South as a region (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, and VA).
