While media outlets around the world might be harping on President Obama’s decision to come out in full support of gay marriage, a recent Gallup poll has found that 60% of voters don’t care about his decision and claim that same-sex marriage support won’t affect their voting decision.
26% of adults say the decision will make them less likely to vote for President Obama, however the survey notes that more than half of those people who say they are “less likely” to vote for Obama are members of the Republican party.
The Gallup poll has also found that 13% of those people who knew of Obama’s decision were “more likely” to vote for them with 24% of those people polled claiming to be democrats and 2% claiming to be Republicans.
At the same time of the President’s announcement (May 9) the USA Today/Gallup poll found that 51% of American’s approve of President Obama’s job performance while 45% disapprove, a job approval rating that remains on par with his pre-gay marriage support announcement
The poll found that six in 10 Americans approve of Obama’s same-sex marriage however Gallup points out that the number could be underestimated because a disproportionate number of Republicans say they are “less likely” to vote for Obama. Essentially the study finds that its likely the same Democrats who would have voted for Obama will continue to vote for him, while most voters who would have voted against Obama were not changing their view based on his decision.
From a simple point of view it is likely that the “intensity” of a persons vote was changed after the gay-marriage announcement was made, but not their actual choice in how they would vote.
The study did however find that 23% of independents and 10% of Democrats say they are less likely to vote for Obama, while 11% of independents and 2% of Republicans say they are more likely to vote for Obama, creating a net voter loss among both groups.
While the poll shows a quick glimpse into the current voting climate based on the president’s recent decision, those polling results often change after voters have had time to digest information and draw firm conclusions.