Support from Homosexual Lobby Could Cost Candidates; Support from Abortion Lobby Also a "Net Negative" for Candidates

(Hat tip: Custos Fidei)

From The Politico:

As the Democratic presidential hopefuls gather in Los Angeles for a precedent-setting gay-sponsored and -themed debate, new data show that in the key Electoral College states the endorsement of gay rights groups hurts a candidate much more than it helps.

Quinnipiac University polls of voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania -- the big three Electoral College swing states [ED.: I'm not sure PA should be considered a "swing state" anymore, as that state has trended increasingly "blue", and since the winner of the last 2 Presidential elections failed to carry the state] -- found voters by large margins more likely to see the endorsement of a gay rights group as a reason to vote against, rather than for, a candidate.

That is especially the case among independent voters -- often the key to winning these critical states -- and much more so among men than women and Republicans than Democrats.

No one has won the White House since 1960 without carrying two of those three states.

***
In 2004, 11 states voted to ban gay marriage -- in most cases by very large margins. The post-election consensus was that these ballot issues brought out more voters who backed George W. Bush than those who supported Democrat John F. Kerry for president.

Yet, during the current election cycle, gay rights groups have been able to further raise their influence with Democratic presidential candidates. The Democratic contenders have been strongly supportive of gay rights, and their embrace of the issue is reflected in the hopefuls taking part in the Thursday night debate.

The Quinnipiac poll of voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania asked whether they would be more likely or less likely to vote for a candidate supported by various interest groups. The margin of error in the polls was 3 percent.

In Ohio, 10 percent of voters said it would make them more likely, 34 percent said less likely -- a more than 3-1 ratio -- while 54 percent said it would not make a difference. Among independent voters, perhaps the key to the state’s 20 electoral votes, 12 percent said it would make them more likely, while 28 percent said less likely.

[More]

(emphasis and editorial commentary added)

My Comments:
The poll also included the following results ...

The survey found that the endorsement of abortion rights groups was a net negative, although not as much among independents as the support of gay rights. (emphasis added)

... which are reflected in a study by Melinda Henneberger and which she wrote about in a recent New York Times op/ed (see here and here).

Finally, additional findings of the Quinnipiac poll show that the left in general and Democrats in particular have gotten little return on the amount of time they have invested in smearing the so-called "religious right":

The backing of conservative Christian groups, a whipping boy for some Democrats, is a mixed blessing. In the three states, being endorsed by Christian conservative groups gets a candidate roughly the same number of backers as it turns off, according to the data.

NOTE: Remember that this is a Quinnipiac poll, which polls generally tend to lean left.