Two of the most influential Republicans in the U.S. Senate these days come from South Carolina, Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham. But Graham’s efforts to work with majority Democrats on some issues has angered many GOP voters in the state, even prompting efforts to censure him.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of Republican voters in South Carolina say the GOP should be more like DeMint, who’s a staunch conservative, than like Graham, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state.

Thirty-two percent (32%) of the state’s Republican voters think the party should model itself more after Graham, and 18% are not sure which one is the best role model.

Among all voters in the state, 38% say Republicans should be more like DeMint, while 32% say they should be like Graham. Thirty percent (30%) aren’t sure.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of South Carolina Republicans have a favorable view of Graham, but 85% feel that way about DeMint. Republicans are nearly twice as likely to have a very favorable view of DeMint compared to his fellow GOP senator – 57% to 30%.

Perhaps more tellingly, 18% of GOP voters have a very unfavorable view of Graham, while just three percent (3%) say the same of DeMint.

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DeMint’s more popular among all voters in the state, too, but the gap is much narrower. Sixty-three percent (63%) have a favorable opinion of him, while Graham’s favorables total 60%. Thirty-one percent (31%) view Graham unfavorably; 25% say that of DeMInt.

DeMint has a slight edge among women voters but leads strongly among men.

Graham leads DeMint by 22 points among voters who strongly favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. But he trails his fellow senator by 27 points among those who strongly oppose the plan.

The bad news for Graham is that in South Carolina, as in most of the country, those who strongly oppose the plan (48%) far outnumber those who strongly support it (27%).

Graham was reelected to a second term in the Senate in 2008 with 58% of the vote. DeMint, who is up for reelection next year, captured nearly 54% when he was first elected to the Senate in 2004.

Forty-five percent (45%) of South Carolina voters approve of Obama’s job performance, with 30% who strongly approve. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove of the job he is doing, including 44% who strongly disapprove. That’s roughly the same as approval ratings nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. John McCain carried South Carolina over Obama 54% to 45% last November.

Forty-nine percent (49%) of South Carolina voters say Governor Mark Sanford should not be impeached, and they’re evenly divided over whether he should resign. Sixty-six percent (66%) believe his ethical standards are at least as good as most politicians.

With the Sanford scandal still swirling in South Carolina, next year’s race for governor is shaping up to be quite competitive if State Education Superintendent Jim Rex is the Democratic candidate.

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