A poll released today shows Iowa voters remain narrowly divided over the 2009 State Supreme Court decision which allowed same-sex couples to marry. The Quinnipiac University poll shows 47-percent support the decision, with 44-percent in opposition.
Peter Brown is the assistant director of the university’s Polling Institute. “They also were asked if they opposed or supported amending the Iowa Constitution to ban same-sex marriage and a healthy majority, 55-percent, are against amending the constitution that way,” Brown says.
A majority of Iowans (57%) who participated in the poll also believe such a ban would be struck down by the courts. Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,256 registered voters in Iowa between July 15-17. The poll also found President Obama’s approval rating in Iowa is among the lowest scores ever posted in the nine states surveyed by Quinnipiac.
Brown says 55-percent of Iowa voters disapprove of the president’s job performance, compared to 41-percent who approve of it. “That’s down from May…when 50-percent of Iowa voters gave the president disapproval and 45-percent approved,” Brown says.
The new poll also takes an early look at the 2016 presidential campaign. “Quinnipiac found that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie would run in a dead heat in Iowa, if the presidential election were held today, at 41-percent each,” Brown says.
In other potential contests, Clinton tops Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker by 46-to-39 percent, while Vice-President Joe Biden trails Christie 49-to-32 percent and gets just 39-percent to Walker’s 42-percent.