A new poll just released today finds that President Obama’s support for same-sex marriage equality is actually more popular among Blacks and Hispanics than among whites. Overall, 45% of whites view the President’s support of marriage equality favorably, while 47% of Hispanics do, and 54% of Blacks do as well.
“One notable difference is by race. Just 41 percent of African-Americans supported gay marriage in ABC/Post polls in mid-2011 and early 2012. Yet 54 percent express a favorable view of his position on the issue in this poll – suggesting that, for some, allegiance to Obama may have prompted a rethink on the issue itself,” notes Langer Research, who performed the poll for ABC News, which adds:
Unusually large numbers of conservatives, Republicans and conservative Republicans respond not just unfavorably, but strongly so – 61, 65 and 71 percent, respectively, peaking at 80 percent of very conservatives.
For their part, most liberals, Democrats and liberal Democrats respond strongly favorably, albeit not always at commensurate levels. Notably, at 52 percent, strongly positive views of Obama’s position among Democrats are 13 points lower than strongly negative views among Republicans.
There’s an intensity gap between the sexes as well: While women, as noted, are much more apt to express overall favorable views of the president’s announcement, more men respond strongly negatively, 45 percent, than women see it strongly favorably, 35 percent.
Some elements of the political equation are clear. Seventy percent of Democrats view Obama’s declaration favorably; 76 percent of Republicans respond negatively. But swing-voting independents tell a more mixed story: On one hand, they tilt slightly more favorably than unfavorably overall, 49-43 percent. On the other, somewhat more independents respond strongly negatively, 35 percent, than strongly positively, 26 percent – and strong sentiment can better predict voter turnout and vote preferences.
An ABC/Post poll in March found majority support for legalizing gay marriage, 52-43 percent, a level first reached in early 2011, reflecting a sharp rise in recent years. Of course, views on Obama’s new position on the issue add a political dimension to the measurement. Still the divisions among groups in this poll are similar to those on gay marriage more generally.
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