Gay weddings prepare to crash GOP primaries

Some responses were well within what you’d expect. Republican voters found it acceptable for a candidate to want to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Democratic voters did not. Democrats found it very acceptable for a candidate to support raising taxes on the wealthy, compared to Republican voters (though even so, support broke 50 percent among Republicans in Iowa).

Advertisement

Democrats found it unacceptable for their candidates to oppose same-sex marriage by wide margins in all three states (though a third of Democrats in South Carolina found it acceptable). But surprise: Republicans also mostly found it unacceptable. Iowa Republicans had the highest likelihood of finding opposition to gay marriage acceptable in a candidate at 50 percent. In New Hampshire and South Carolina, the numbers were 43 and 45 percent. Aaron Blake at The Washington Post noticed that deviation from the expected. Blake worries, though that people might have been confused by the question. The poll asked whether the voter found opposition to gay marriage acceptable or unacceptable in a candidate. Blake wondered whether this created a sort of confusing “double negative” question that got false negatives. The Democrats, though, didn’t seem to be confused by the question, so I’m not so sure.

Advertisement

No doubt Republican voters will be asked about this question more and more, especially once summer comes around and the Supreme Court rules, so we’ll get a better grasp of where Republican voters stand. Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules, potential candidates like Sen. Ted Cruz and former Gov. Mike Huckabee are willing to make opposition of gay marriage recognition part of their campaigns.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement