Utah firmly against same-sex marriage, but not civil unions

With Utah, there’s no question voters oppose same-sex marriage. After all, it’s one of the reddest states in the country with a population that’s 70% Mormon. PPP confirms this as only 27% of Utah voters think that same-sex marriage should be legal compared to 66% who think it should be illegal. Republicans in Utah, who make up 50% of the state, are united 89-6 against legal same-sex marriage, while Democrats only support it 66-29. Unlike other states, independents also oppose legal same-sex marriage by a large margin, 52-36. This is likely due to the fierce opposition to same-sex marriage from Mormons. Mormons oppose same sex marriage 83-13, while non-Mormons come out strong for same-sex marriage rights by a 63-29 margin. Even in Utah, same-sex marriage has plurality support among the youth with those 18-29 in favor of legal same sex marriage 42-39.

When civil unions are included, a solid 60% majority of Utah voters come out in favor of some form of recognition. 23% favor marriage, 37% civil unions, and 39% oppose all recognition. With this level of support in Utah, it’s likely that there isn’t single state in the nation stands in opposition to all recognition of same-sex couples.

Despite the Mormon Church’s history of supporting polygamy, Utah is united in opposition to its legality. 75% of Utah voters think Polygamy should be illegal while only 14% think it should be legal. What’s most interesting about these numbers is the breakdown between Mormons and non-Mormons. Mormons are actually a bit less likely to support legalized polygamy. 14-78, than non-Mormons, 16-70. Utah voters also leave the Mormon Church’s history in the dust when it comes to interracial marriage, supporting legal interracial marriage 88-5. Mormons support legal interracial marriage a bit less strongly than non-Mormons, 87-5 and 90-5 respectively, but the difference is slight.

As for Utah’s politicians, Mike Lee, who ousted Bob Bennett at the Utah Republican convention, rates only a tepid 35-31. This is a poor rating for a state where Republicans outnumber Democrats more than 2-1. While Lee does fine with Republicans rating 53-12, he gets almost no support among Democrats, 6-60, and is deep underwater with independents, 24-44. Congressman Rob Bishop rates similarly with only a 32-30 rating. Like Lee, Bishop is down considerably with independents 24-47. For many politicians, this would be the kiss of death, but in Utah a Republican usually won’t have any problems unless Republicans begin to disapprove.

Former senator Bennett does better than Lee and Bishop among the general population of Utah voters, rating 48-34. However, Bennett only rates 50-32 among Republicans. Bennett is on positive ground with Democrats, 42-34, and independents, 48-37, but his crossover support proved useless when he had to defend himself against a more popular Republican in his own party last year.

As for sports, Utah voters prefer BYU as their favorite college team by a narrow 35-33 margin over Utah. 11% prefer Utah State, 5% Southern Utah, 4% Weber State, and 1% Utah Valley. Almost all the support for BYU comes from Mormons. Mormons prefer BYU over Utah by a 48-21 margin, but only 3% of non-Mormons prefer BYU compared to 61% who prefer Utah.

Full results here