Polls

Kansas voters oppose controversial denial of service bill

| Tom Jensen

Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. –
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds only 29% support in Kansas for the state’s proposed law allowing individuals and businesses to refuse service for same sex couples. 59% are opposed. There’s bipartisan opposition to the bill with Democrats (13/80) and independents (24/61) strongly against it and even Republicans (40/44) narrowly opposed.

“Kansas has received a lot of negative national media attention over this bill recently,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But these numbers find it really only reflects the opinions of a few people in the legislature, and not the state’s voters as a whole.”

Opinion still remains divided over same-sex marriage and over marijuana legalization. 44% of voters think same-sex marriage should be allowed, compared to 48% who think it should not be. Yet only 32% of voters reject both marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples, and even a majority of Republicans (53%) favor either marriage or civil unions. Marijuana tells a similar story: voters oppose recreational marijuana 52/42, yet they support legalizing medical marijuana 64/29.

Rather unsurprisingly, Hillary Clinton finds herself trailing all Republicans we tested her against among Kansas voters for a 2016 Presidential matchup. She trails Jeb Bush 50/41, Chris Christie 46/39, Mike Huckabee 49/42, and Rand Paul 48/41. Given that Romney won the state by a comfortable 22 points in 2012, Clinton’s numbers represent an improvement for Democrats, but Kansas seems to be a long way away from being competitive on the Presidential electoral map.

Senator Jerry Moran can put a feather in his cap for being the only elected official we tested to have a net positive approval rating: 37% of voters approve of the job he’s doing in Congress, compared to 26% who disapprove. Voters, though, still do not agree with Moran’s stance on cutting off unemployment benefits; they think the benefits should be continued by a 61/32 margin.

PPP surveyed 693 Kansas voters, including 375 Republican primary voters, from February 18th to 20th. The margin of error for the overall survey is +/- 3.7% and for the Republican primary component it’s +/-5.1%. 80% of interviews for the poll were conducted over the phone with 20% interviewed over the internet to reach respondents who don’t have landline telephones.

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

General Election Toplines

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Jerry
Moran’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 37%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 26%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 36%

Q2 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
allowed in Kansas, or not?
Think it should be…………………………………….. 44%
Think it should not be……………………………….. 48%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q3 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 …………………………………26%
There should be no recognition of a gay
couple’s relationship …………………………………32%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 3%

Q4 Do you support or oppose the bill recently
proposed in Kansas that would allow
individuals and businesses to refuse service for
same-sex couples?
Support ………………………………………………….. 29%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 59%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%

Q5 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Jeb
Bush, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 41%
Jeb Bush………………………………………………… 50%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%

Q6 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Chris
Christie, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 39%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 46%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%

Q7 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mike
Huckabee, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 42%
Mike Huckabee ……………………………………….. 49%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%

Q8 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rand
Paul, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 41%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 48%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%

Q9 Would you support or oppose raising the
minimum wage to $10 an hour?
Support ………………………………………………….. 49%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%

Q10 Congress is considering whether to continue or
cut off federal unemployment benefits for
workers whose state unemployment benefits
have ended but cannot find a job. Do you think
that Congress should continue or cut off federal
unemployment benefits at this time?
Strongly feel they should continue them……… 36%
Somewhat feel they should continue them ….. 25%
Strongly feel they should cut them off…………. 22%
Somewhat feel they should cut them off ……… 10%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q11 Do you think marijuana should be legally
allowed for medical purposes with the approval
of a doctor, or not?
Think it should be…………………………………….. 64%
Think it should not be……………………………….. 29%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q12 Do you think marijuana should be legally
allowed for recreational use, that stores should
be allowed to sell it, and that its sales should
be taxed and regulated similarly to alcohol, or
not?
Think it should be…………………………………….. 42%
Think it should not be……………………………….. 52%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%

Q13 Do you consider yourself to be a Kansas or
Kansas State fan?
Kansas…………………………………………………… 38%
Kansas State ………………………………………….. 34%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 27%

Q14 (Asked only of Kansas fans:) Do you approve
or disapprove of basketball coach Bill Self’s job
performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 79%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 5%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%

Q15 (Asked only of Kansas fans:) Do you approve
or disapprove of football coach Charlie Weis’
job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 37%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 43%

Q16 (Asked only of Kansas fans:) Do you have a
favorable or unfavorable opinion of Roy
Williams?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 63%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 24%

Q17 (Asked only of Kansas fans:) Do you have a
favorable or unfavorable opinion of Mark
Mangino?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 38%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 27%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 34%

Q18 (Asked only of Kansas State fans:) Do you
approve or disapprove of basketball coach
Bruce Weber’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 60%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 5%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 35%

Q19 (Asked only of Kansas State fans:) Do you
approve or disapprove of football coach Bill
Snyder’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 81%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 6%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%

Q20 Is your favorite Major League Baseball team
the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago
Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals,
New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, St.
Louis Cardinals, or some other team?
Braves …………………………………………………… 3%
Red Sox…………………………………………………. 3%
Cubs ……………………………………………………… 7%
Rockies………………………………………………….. 4%
Royals……………………………………………………. 49%
Yankees …………………………………………………. 4%
A’s…………………………………………………………. 0%
Cardinals………………………………………………… 4%
Someone else / Don’t have a favorite …………. 26%

Q21 (Asked only of Royals fans:) What do you think
the outcome of the 2014 season will be for the
Royals? Do you think they will win the World
Series, win the American League but not the
World Series, make the playoffs but not win the
American League, or not make the playoffs at
all?
Win the World Series ……………………………….. 9%
Win the AL but not the World Series …………… 14%
Make the playoffs but won’t win the AL……….. 50%
Won’t make the playoffs……………………………. 17%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%

Q22 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the Wizard of Oz?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 73%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 9%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 18%

Q23 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Dorothy?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 76%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 7%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q24 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the Wicked Witch of the West?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 26%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 52%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%

Q25 If the candidates for Governor were Dorothy
and the Wicked Witch of the West, who would
you vote for?
Dorothy ………………………………………………….. 74%
The Wicked Witch of the West…………………… 5%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%

Q26 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 38%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 54%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 8%

Q27 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 9%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 16%
Moderate………………………………………………… 32%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 19%

Q28 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%

Q29 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 ……………………………………………….. 28%
Republican……………………………………………… 47%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 25%

Q30 If you are white, press 1. If other, press 2.
White …………………………………………………….. 90%
Other……………………………………………………… 10%

Q31 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 65
or older, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 14%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 28%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 36%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 22%

Q32 Mode
Phone ……………………………………………………. 80%
Internet ………………………………………………….. 20%

Republican Primary Toplines

Q1 Given the choices of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie,
Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Rand
Paul, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, and Scott
Walker, who would you most like to see as the
GOP candidate for President in 2016?
Jeb Bush………………………………………………… 13%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 13%
Ted Cruz ………………………………………………… 12%
Mike Huckabee ……………………………………….. 20%
Bobby Jindal …………………………………………… 2%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 11%
Marco Rubio …………………………………………… 5%
Paul Ryan ………………………………………………. 7%
Scott Walker …………………………………………… 4%
Someone else/Not sure ……………………………. 13%

Q2 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 2%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 5%
Moderate………………………………………………… 29%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 32%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 32%

Q3 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 47%
Man……………………………………………………….. 53%

Q4 If you are 18 to 45 years old, press 1. If 46 to
65, press 2. If you are 65 or older, press 2.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 28%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 39%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 33%

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