Reality-Based Voting Bloc

In anticipation of their upcoming primaries, PPP polls Alabama and Mississippi. They're finding that both states are essentially knotted up between Romney, Gingrich, and Santorum. But there are some interesting breakdowns once you consider the, er, unique views of many Dixie Republicans.

For example, in Mississippi only 12% of voters think Obama's a Christian to 52% who think he's a Muslim and 36% who are not sure. In Alabama just 14% think Obama's a Christian to 45% who think he's a Muslim and 41% who aren't sure. Among voters who answer this question correctly, Romney dominates, but among the Obama's-a-Muslim crowd Gingrich starts to pull back into favor (holding an 11 point lead in Mississippi and tying the race in Alabama).

Barely half of Mississippi Republicans belief interracial marriage should be legal, and Newt crushes amongst those who think it should not. Romney leads amongst the quarter of Alabamans and Mississippians who believe in evolution, while Gingrich tops amongst the majority that does not.

Basically, one thing you can say about Romney is that he does do better among the bloc of Republicans who still have at least a foot planted in reality. The problem, of course, is that this is a relatively small segment of the GOP primary electorate.