Arkansas Poll Addresses Education, Politics, Gay and Lesbian Issues

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — This year’s Arkansas Poll takes the pulse of Arkansans on current issues including trust in education, public sentiment toward politicians and attitudes toward gay and lesbian rights.

Approval ratings for Gov. Mike Huckabee and U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor have remained stable compared to last year, but President Bush’s approval ratings dipped from 50 percent last year to 38 percent this year, down strikingly from when they were taken in 2001, when Bush had an 87 percent approval rating among Arkansans.

"Once again, the Arkansas public tracks remarkably evenly with the nation," said Janine Parry, associate professor of political science in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the director of the Arkansas Poll. "Still, numbers like these are probably more damaging to the president because Arkansas was a strong source of support toward his re-election."

The researchers also asked a battery of questions aimed at understanding attitudes underlying policies impacting gay and lesbian rights. Parry said that several states are examining these issues, because most of these policies are formed at the state level.

The poll found that the majority of respondents approved of allowing openly homosexual men and women to serve in the army or to adopt a child. However, 60 percent of respondents did not favor laws to protect homosexuals from discrimination in the workplace. And a majority of people — 54 percent — said that they believe there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship. People were most influenced in their attitudes toward homosexual relationships by the teachings of their religion — 45 percent of respondents cited this as the greatest influence in their attitudes. By contrast, 19 percent of people said their attitudes were shaped by knowing someone who is homosexual.

The respondents were sorted into different categories, including people who identified themselves as evangelical Christians, weekly churchgoers, people who knew a gay or lesbian person and people who had a somewhat or very unfavorable view of gays and lesbians.

"While a strong majority of people disapprove of homosexual relationships, people are unwilling — in many cases — to dictate the course of someone else’s life," Parry said. "Knowing someone who is gay or lesbian appears to make people substantially more charitable. That’s not surprising. Research tells us that personal contact with an unfamiliar group tends to increase tolerance by allaying fear."

While poll respondents cited the economy as the most important problem or issue facing people in Arkansas today, they also still profess strong concerns about education. Thirty-one percent of respondents mentioned the economy, with 16 percent saying education is the most important issue. Gas prices, health insurance, crime and taxes lagged behind in the single digits.

The concern Arkansans profess about education is reflected in a series of questions asked by Shannon Davis, a research associate in the College of Education and Health Professions. The responses showed that 56 percent of Arkansans said they completely trust or somewhat trust the public school system in Arkansas. Further, Arkansans overwhelmingly trust local and state government to handle the improvement of public schools — 43 percent saying they trust local government and 36 percent saying they would trust state government. Only 11 percent said that they trust the federal government to handle public school improvement.

"Given the No Child Left Behind legislation, I found it interesting that Arkansans believe that the level of government in which they have the most trust to handle the improvement of education is mostly local, but also state," Davis said.

The poll revealed some unexpected results, including the fact that while almost 60 percent of respondents feel that Gov. Mike Huckabee is doing a good job as governor of Arkansas, the respondents were split almost evenly at 43-44 percent on whether or not they approved of a possible run for president.

"The even split was something of a surprise," said Parry. "My best guess is that those who don’t approve of his presidential bid include both people dissatisfied with his governorship and people who love what he is doing and want to keep him focused on the state."

If the next governor’s election were held now, 47 percent of respondents who said they were "very likely" to vote in the next election backed Democrat Mike Beebe, while 40 percent of the same group said they would vote for Republican Asa Hutchinson.

"With the 2006 election season under way, the question was too tempting not to ask. In terms of predictive value, though, a lot can happen in 12 months," Parry said.

The poll was conducted in October by the Survey Research Center at the University of Arkansas, yielding 766 completed telephone surveys out of 6,808 attempted calls. The margin of error in the poll is plus or minus three percentage points.

The Arkansas Poll has been conducted annually since 1999. The 2005 Arkansas Poll is sponsored by the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society. Results from the 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 polls can be accessed online at http://plsc.uark.edu/arkpoll/.