In honor of the Oscars, we quote Sally Field.
South Dakota has the fourth-best favorability rating among all 50 states, according to a new poll.
They like us. They really like us!
That’s what Fields said in a burst of raw emotion when she won the Lead Actress Oscar in 1985 for ”Places in the Heart.” Now we know how she felt.
Public Policy Polling, a national polling firm based in North Carolina, asked people what their impressions of each state are, both good and bad. Hawaii had the highest rating by far while California came in dead last in the poll, which was released Feb. 21.
Hawaii, with a 54 percent positive ranking and a 10 percent negative rating, had a composite score of plus 44.
Colorado (44-9, for a plus 35) was second, Tennessee (48-14, plus 34) third, and South Dakota (42-8) was ranked fourth, although it had the same plus-34 score as Tennessee but scored 6 points lower in the favorable ranking.
The rest of the top 10 were Virginia (45-13, plus 32), Montana (39-7, plus 32), Alaska (46-17, plus 29), Oregon (43-14, plus 29), and North Carolina and Pennsylvania (each 40-11, or plus 29).
California was last with a 27 percent favorable score and 44 percent negative for a net negative-17 score.
It was followed in the bottom five by Illinois (19-29, negative 10), New Jersey (25-32, negative 7), Mississippi (22-28, negative 6), and Utah (24-27, negative 3).
Only seven states had overall negative ranking, while Louisiana broke even.
Dustin Ingalls, assistant director of PPP, said the polling was conducted by automated calls from October through February.
“We thought it would be interesting to see what American voters thought of different states, not just the one they lived in, but other states,” Ingalls said.
He said South Dakota’s high ranking did catch them by surprise.
“No one had a problem with South Dakota,” Ingalls said. “When that happens, you’re going to score high and you did.”
South Dakota’s negative score of 8 was the second lowest of any state. Montana had a negative score of 7, while Colorado, with 9, was the only other state to score in single digits in negative perception.
Men liked South Dakota more than women did.
Men have favorable views of the state by a score of 49 to 10, with 42 percent unsure. Women liked the Mount Rushmore State by a score of 36 to 7, with 57 percent unsure.
Overall, 49 percent of respondents were unsure of their feelings about South Dakota. PPP’s Ingalls said that was an average score.
California had the lowest unsure rate, as just 28 percent of people didn’t have a view on the state, while West Virginia had the highest uncertainty rate at 62 percent.
South Dakota was viewed favorably by all races, with whites ranking it 45 percent positive, 8 percent negative and 48 percent unsure while Hispanics ranked it 52-8-40. Blacks ranked the state 23-16-61, while people who described themselves as “other” ranked it 33-4-63.
All age groups also have positive views, with people ages 18 to 29 giving South Dakota a 46 percent positive view, 8 percent negative and 46 percent unsure.
Among people 30 to 45, it was 41-12-48, while it was 41-8-51 among people 46 to 65. People over 65 ranked South Dakota 45-5-50.
People from every political stripe like South Dakota but Republicans and independents really hold positive views of the traditionally red state.
Among Republicans, the results were 47 percent positive, 6 percent negative and 47 percent unsure for a plus-41 score. Independents ranked it 49-8-42, also a plus-41 score.
Among Democrats, it was 34-10-55, a plus-24 score.
Democrats’ favorite states include Hawaii, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Colorado, and New York, and their least favorites are led by Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi.
Republicans love Alaska and Texas, and absolutely hate California, followed distantly by Illinois and Massachusetts.
PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of The New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Here are full results and crosstabs.
