Exit Polls Show Texas and Ohio Republicans Strongly Pro-Life on Abortion

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Mar 5, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Exit Polls Show Texas and Ohio Republicans Strongly Pro-Life on Abortion Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 5
, 2008

Austin, TX (LifeNews.com) — Texas and Ohio Republicans were no exceptions when it comes to overwhelmingly supporting a pro-life position on abortion. Strong majorities in both states said they prefer making abortion illegal in either all or most cases and they joined the large majority of states with exit polling available showing pro-life Republican majorities.

Including Texas and Ohio, the number of states with a pro-life Republican majority jumps to 19 out of 24 that have voted thus far and had exit polling data.

The Texas exit poll included 1,545 Republicans and 69 percent said abortion should be illegal while just 29 percent said abortion should remain illegal.

Looking more closely at the numbers, some 25 percent of Texas Republicans said all abortions should be illegal while another 44 percent want most abortions made illegal.

The exit polling data showed 22 percent want most abortions legal while just 7 percent of Texas Republicans agree with Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in wanting to keep all abortions legal.

A Survey USA poll taken for Texas media with 1,755 Republicans found the exit polls a pretty reliable indicator of where they stand on abortions.

The survey found 69 percent of Texas Republicans holding a pro-life position and just 29 percent saying they are pro-abortion. A similar survey of 1,766 Texas Democrats found 37 percent are pro-life and 60 percent pro-abortion, making it clear a majority of Texas voters take a pro-life view on abortion when both parties are included.

John McCain, who became the Republican nominee on Tuesday night, carried 47 percent of the pro-life vote compared with 41 percent for Mike Huckabee, who dropped out.

Some 64 percent of pro-abortion Texas Republicans backed McCain while 25 percent supported Huckabee.

Looking at Ohio Republicans, 716 responded to a CNN exit poll and another 2,000 participated in a pre-primary poll conducted by Survey USA and released on Monday.

In the exit polling, 70 percent of Ohio Republicans take a pro-life position saying abortion should be illegal while just 28 percent support legalized abortion.

Breaking down those views, 27 percent said they want all abortions illegal while another 43 percent said they favored making most abortions illegal. Just 22 percent want most abortions legal and only 6 percent of Ohio Republicans agree with Obama and Clinton that all abortions should remain legal.

Those numbers were supported by the Survey USA poll, which found 67 percent of Ohio Republicans take a pro-life view and just 31 percent support legalized abortion.

Conversely, Survey USA’s poll of 1,805 Ohio Democrats showed 36 percent take a pro-life view and 61 percent take a pro-abortion view — making it appear a majority of all Ohio voters are pro-life on abortion.

Looking at how Ohio Republicans voted based on their abortion views, McCain won 54 percent of the pro-life vote compared with 36 percent for Huckabee and five percent for Ron Paul. McCain and Huckabee split almost evenly among voters who want all abortions made illegal.

On the pro-abortion side, McCain won 64 percent of the Republican vote to 24 percent for Huckabee and nine percent for Paul.

Exit Polling Shows Most States With
Pro-Life Republican Majorities

State Pro-Life v. Pro-Abortion Always Illegal Mostly Illegal Mostly Legal Always Legal Alabama 76-20% 32% 44% 15% 5% Arizona 58-37% 17% 42% 25% 13% Arkansas 80-18% 37% 43% 13% 6% California 54-42% 19% 35% 28% 14% Connecticut 46-50% 13% 33% 30% 20% Florida 54-44% 18% 35% 30% 14% Georgia 64-33% 25% 39% 24% 9% Illinois 64-33% 26% 38% 23% 10% Iowa 74-23% 25% 49% 16% 7% Louisiana 75-22% 38% 37% 15% 7% Maryland 56-42% 17% 39% 28% 14% Massachusetts 41-56% 13% 28% 37% 19% Missouri 74-23% 32% 43% 18% 6% New Hampshire 45-52% 15% 30% 32% 20% New Jersey 46-53% 16% 29% 34% 19% New York 48-49% 14% 34% 28% 21% Ohio 70-28% 27% 43% 22% 6% Oklahoma 76-22% 27% 49% 17% 6% South Carolina 71-28% 28% 43% 19% 9% Tennessee 75-22% 33% 42% 15% 7% Texas 68-29% 25% 44% 22% 7% Utah 85-13% 10% 75% 10% 3% Virginia 63-34% 25% 38% 25% 9% Wisconsin 74-25% 27% 47% 16% 9%