Poll: On Abortion, President Bush Fares Better With Base Than John Kerry

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 21, 2004   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Poll: On Abortion, President Bush Fares Better With Base Than John Kerry Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 21, 2004

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — When it comes to the issue of abortion, pro-life voters are more strongly in favor of President Bush than pro-abortion voters are of Senator John Kerry. That may reveal another "abortion gap" in the upcoming election similar to previous gaps that have shown the abortion issue favoring pro-life candidates.

According to a Survey USA poll in 28 states, including key presidential battlegrounds, President Bush leads by a wider margin among pro-life voters, a key constituency, than John Kerry does with pro-abortion voters.

The survey data suggests that, on the abortion issue, pro-life voters are more interested in making sure their candidate wins and pro-abortion voters appear to be less mobilized, despite multi-million dollar advertising efforts by leading abortion advocacy groups.

Survey USA polled likely voters and, of those who said they were pro-life, Bush led Kerry by as much as 65 percent in Washington, 64 percent in Colorado, 62 percent in Oklahoma and 59 percent in Kansas.

Kerry does well with pro-abortion voters but his margins are smaller.

Kerry leads Bush among pro-abortion voters by 49 percent in Oregon, 48 percent in Arkansas and New York, and by 45 percent in Rhode Island.

The Survey USA poll shows Bush with a large abortion gap over Kerry in most states.

In Colorado, Bush does 41 percent better among pro-life voters than Kerry fares with voters who back abortion. In Nevada, the abortion gap is 39 percent, it’s 36 percent in Arizona and a whopping 49 percent in Oklahoma.

Overall, Bush does 46 percent better among pro-life voters while Kerry polls only 30 percent better among pro-abortion voters — a 13 percent advantage for Bush. This shows that Bush is able to attract voters who would otherwise be more likely to support Kerry.

Bush fares better with the pro-life constituency in 20 of the 28 states Survey USA polled. Kerry polls better than Bush with his pro-abortion base mostly in states that tend to lean in favor of legal abortion, such as Rhode Island, Maryland, New York, and Illinois.

Surprisingly, Kerry fares better with his forces than Bush in the key battleground states of Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. That shows pro-life groups need to do more to rally pro-life voters behind the president.

By taking a pro-life position, Republican presidential candidates have picked up a few percentage points in the popular vote.

A Gallup Poll Special Report published after the last presidential election entitled "Public Opinion About Abortion — An In-Depth Review" said "the abortion issue has been an advantage for Republican candidates" for all six presidential elections from 1984 to 2000 because of the nominee’s pro-life position.

According to Gallup, of the 14% of voters who said abortion was one of the most important issues in deciding their vote in the 2000 presidential election, 58% supported Bush, while only 41% voted for pro-abortion candidate Al Gore.

Related web sites:
https://www.surveyusa.com