Polls

AZ pro-civil unions, remembers Goldwater fondly

| Dustin Ingalls

Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. –
Progress on gay rights may not always come in the most likely of places. PPP has been finding that even in the most traditionally red states politically, the ones that rarely vote for Democrats statewide, majorities of voters still want gay couples to have legal equality with their straight counterparts, if not the term “marriage” itself. And even in some pretty blue states, opinion is still against full marriage. In Arizona, PPP finds that voters are actually split on marriage, with 44% wanting it to be legal and 45%
still illegal. But support for the legal rights associated with marriage rises to 72%, including 83% of Democrats, 78% of independents, and even 59% of Republicans. On both of these questions, opinion is significantly more socially progressive than in Pennsylvania, which PPP polled during the same time period.

But Arizona is more like its red-state brethren when it comes to opinion on the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements. Only 36% support O.W.S.’s goals, and 44% oppose them. Voters are split just a bit in favor of the Tea Party’s goals, 44-42. And when asked of which movement they have a higher opinion, Arizonans choose the Tea Party, 45-37.

Despite his epic landslide loss to Lyndon Johnson in 1964, Arizonans have a positive opinion of their late, longtime senator Barry Goldwater, one of the founders of the modern conservative movement. 51% see him favorably and only 20% unfavorably. Even Democrats, who could find little in common with him ideologically, look back on him just slightly fondly, 34-32.

There is really no contest when it comes to who Arizonans root for in professional baseball or football. In the NFL, 49% cheer for the Cardinals, with seven other teams measuring 8% support or less. It is even more lopsided in MLB, with 65% liking the Diamondbacks, and seven other teams at 6% or less. On the college front, it is much closer, with 36% favoring Arizona State, 29% Arizona, and 16% Northern Arizona.

PPP surveyed 500 Arizona voters from November 17th to 20th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.4%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. 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.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Barry Goldwater?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 51%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 30%

Q2 Do you support or oppose the goals of the
Occupy Wall Street movement?
Support ………………………………………………….. 36%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 20%

Q3 Do you support or oppose the goals of the Tea
Party movement?
Support ………………………………………………….. 44%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 42%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q4 Do you have a higher opinion of the Occupy
Wall Street movement or the Tea Party
movement?
Occupy Wall Street ………………………………….. 37%
Tea Party ……………………………………………….. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 18%

Q5 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 44%
Illegal …………………………………………………….. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q6 Which of the following best describes your
opinion on gay marriage: gay couples should
be allowed to legally marry, or gay couples
should be allowed to form civil unions but not
legally marry, or there should be no legal
recognition of a gay couple’s relationship?
Gay couples should be allowed to legally
marry ……………………………………………………..40%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil
unions but not marry …………………………………32%
There should be no legal recognition of a gay
couple’s relationship …………………………………27%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 1%

Q7 Is your favorite college the Arizona Wildcats,
Arizona State Sun Devils, or Northern Arizona
Lumberjacks?
Arizona…………………………………………………… 29%
Arizona State ………………………………………….. 36%
Northern Arizona……………………………………… 16%
Another college/Not sure ………………………….. 19%

Q8 Is your favorite baseball team the Arizona
Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Colorado
Rockies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New
York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, San Diego
Padres, or San Francisco Giants?
Diamondbacks ………………………………………… 65%
Cubs ……………………………………………………… 6%
Rockies………………………………………………….. 5%
Angels……………………………………………………. 2%
Yankees …………………………………………………. 4%
A’s…………………………………………………………. 1%
Padres …………………………………………………… 1%
Giants ……………………………………………………. 2%
Someone else/Don’t have a favorite team …… 15%

Q9 Is your favorite football team the Arizona
Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos,
Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders,
Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, or
San Francisco 49ers?
Cardinals………………………………………………… 49%
Cowboys………………………………………………… 5%
Broncos………………………………………………….. 6%
Packers………………………………………………….. 8%
Raiders ………………………………………………….. 2%
Steelers………………………………………………….. 2%
Chargers………………………………………………… 3%
49ers……………………………………………………… 5%
Someone else/Don’t have a favorite team …… 21%

Q10 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 13%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 17%
Moderate………………………………………………… 25%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 25%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 21%

Q11 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%

Q12 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 38%
Republican……………………………………………… 41%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 21%

Q13 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If other, press 3.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 16%
White …………………………………………………….. 76%
Other……………………………………………………… 8%

Q14 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 42%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

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