Oregon Miscellany

-Oregon voters would be closely divided if they had a vote in 2014 on legalizing gay marriage or marijuana. 46% think gay marriage should be legal to 45% who think it should be illegal.  And 43% think marijuana usage should be legal to 46% who believe it should not. In both cases voter under 65 support liberalizing the laws, but seniors are so strong in their opposition that it becomes very close overall.

A push to legalize civil unions in Oregon wouldn't be terribly controversial. 74% of voters in the state support either gay marriage or civil unions, including 53% of Republicans, with only 23% opposed to any sort of legal recognition at all for same sex couples.

-Oregon is not a big professional sports state. 40% don't have a favorite MLB team and 34% don't have a preferred NFL franchise. The quasi local Seattle Mariners lead the way among MLB teams at 16%, followed by the Red Sox at 10%, Cubs and Giants at 7%, Yankees at 6%, Braves at 5%, Dodgers at 4%, A's at 3%, and Padres at 2%.

42% of Oregonians say they would like to have an MLB team of their own in the state to 31% opposed to the concept. But only 19% would support the use of any taxpayer money to build a ballpark for such a team with 68% opposed so it's pretty unlikely there will be a Portland Beaver franchise in the majors any time soon.

Speaking to their new status as America's Team, the Packers come out as the most popular NFL team in the state at 16% to 15% for the Seahawks, 10% for the 49ers, 8% for the Cowboys, 6% for the Broncos and Raiders, 3% for the Giants, and 2% for the Chargers.

31% of voters in the state identify themselves as Oregon fans to 27% who pull for Oregon State. This is one college sports rivalry with a huge partisan divide- Democrats prefer the Ducks by a 38-21 spread, while Republicans go for the Beavers 36-23.

-All six places we looked at for our Oregon cities favorability poll come out with positive numbers. Bend is the most highly rated at a +57 spread (66/9), followed by Corvallis at +38 (54/16), Portland at +30 (59/29), Medford at +22 (40/18), Eugene at +21 (49/28), and Salem at +13 (41/28).

Bend and Corvallis are at the top of the list because they both do well with voters across party lines. Portland and Eugene are both very polarizing. Portland ranks the best of any city among Democrats at 78/11, but Republicans actually rate it unfavorably at 34/52. Eugene similarly gets a 65/11 rating from Democrats, but only a 30/49 one from Republicans. Republicans view Salem (35/40) unfavorably as well.

Full results here

Comments

[Really]

It's always fun to see the spin here... Tom, you always love to make a gigantic deal when Same-Sex marriage numbers look better to legalize SSM, but when the number move in the other direction, as they have here, albeit slightly, you don't mention that. Here, SSM is supported only 46-45. In June 2011, it was supported 48-42. I just needed to point that out.

Here is the june polling just as a source: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2011/06/oregon-in-favor-of-legal-gay-marriage-kitzhaber-solid.html

[Joshbzin]

Note: Oregon does have domestic partner benefits. Passed by the legislature in 2007 and implemented in 2008.

[Chuck]

Ummmm....Oregon already has civil unions, under the name of "Domestic Partnerships"--all the rights of marriage, just not the name:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_partnership_in_Oregon

[Julianne C]

Interesting how this poll shows a decline in support for gay marriage since last year, but you make no mention of that...yet when other state polls show support increasing, you trumpet that information as a sign of a great cultural shift and change in public opinion. Hmm, could it be perhaps that public opinion is not changing on this issue very much at all, and that your statements to the contrary were premature and motivated by bias? That's what I think.

In 20 years when gay marriage is still banned, I would love to see your reaction. This issue is a loser with the American people, obviously.

[Julianne C]

I should also add that calling people who believe marriage is between a man and woman "anti-equality" as you did in your twitter post is despicable, and does nothing to get people over to your side. Don't act shocked when voters continue to push back against the efforts of the left to smear them and their beliefs.

Why don't you guys try being a pollster for once, and keep your mouth shut about your personal opinions?