MILLEDGEVILLE, GA – The Georgia College Department of Government and Sociology has released the first edition of Georgia’s State of the State Poll.

Conducted during February, the results focus on key issues facing the state and information about political leaders.

“Key highlights from respondents include that Georgians are optimistic about the direction of the state,” said Dr. Costas Spirou, Georgia College professor and chair of the Department of Government and Sociology. “We also found that jobs, education and health care are the three most important issues facing the state.”

According to the 500 randomly selected adults interviewed, more than half think the state is moving in the right direction. Jobs ranked the most important issue facing the state at 37 percent, while education (23 percent) and health care (14 percent) followed.

The poll also found that most Georgians believe the state’s economy will be in about the same condition a year from now (42 percent). Thirty-five percent felt it would get better, and 17 percent thought it would get worse.

The majority of Georgians support the deepening of the Savannah Port (56 percent) and oppose public funding for professional stadiums (76 percent).

The poll also highlighted the most trusted politicians in the state, with Gov. Nathan Deal and former Gov. Roy Barnes ranking as the most trusted.

Only nine percent of Georgian’s reported a strong satisfaction with public education. More than half surveyed said they would be willing to pay more taxes to provide better educational opportunities for children.

The data also shows that 41 percent of Georgians “strongly oppose” the Affordable Care Act or Obama Care. Only 25 percent strongly favored the new law.

The 2014 Georgia’s State of the State Poll was conducted by a random telephone survey between Feb. 5 and 18, 2014. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.4 percent. All participants interviewed were 18 years of age or older.

“The purpose of Georgia’s State of the State Poll is to engage the citizenry and contribute to a statewide conversation about various public policy issues. In the process, our goal is to improve the socioeconomic well-being of the state’s residents,” said Spirou, who co-authored the report with Dr. Min Kim, Georgia College assistant professor of public administration.

For more information, visit gcsu.edu/poll.

Click here to see the full report of Georgia’s State of the State Poll.

Source: Georgia College