Thread: Voters Divided on Which Party to Trust More on Immigration

Trust on Issues
Voters Divided on Which Party to Trust More on Immigration
Friday, May 07, 2010

Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on eight out of 10 key issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports, but they are more evenly divided on several issues, including immigration.

Following the passage of immigration reform in Arizona, the latest national telephone survey of Likely Voters finds that 41% now say they trust Republicans more than Democrats when it comes to handling immigration, down six points from late March. Thirty-eight percent (38%) place their trust in Democrats to handle this issue, up four points from the end of March. Twenty-one percent (21%) more are not sure which party to trust.

Though voters are more divided on the issue than they have been in months, they were just as divided on which party to trust a year ago.

While the number of Democrats who trust their own party more showed little change from the previous survey, the number of Republicans who place trust in their own party to handle immigration dropped from 81% to 70%.

Following weekend protests against the new Arizona law cracking down on illegal immigration, (59%) of voters still favor legislation like Arizona's that authorizes local police to stop and verify the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant. Thirty-two percent (32%) oppose such a law.

Forty- eight percent (48%) of voters trust Republicans to handle the issue of health care, while 41% now trust Democrats on this issue. Eleven percent (11%) are not sure. In late March, Republicans led Democrats by 16 points on this issue. However, the number of Republicans who trust their own party on this issue dropped ten points.

Voters are also more divided on the issues of Social Security, Education, Abortion, and the War in Iraq. On the issue of Education, Democrats are now trusted more than Republicans. Still, voters have been going back-and-forth between which party to trust on this issue for several months now.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on May 2-3, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Separate polling finds that voters now rate government ethics and corruption as the most important issue regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports. This is the second time in two years this issue has edged the economy and also marks the highest percentage of voters who have ever rated it most important.

Although voters regard the issue of government ethics and corruptions with high importance, they’re still not sure which party to trust on the issue. Thirty percent (30%) place their trust in the GOP, while 34% trust Democrats more. But the plurality (36%) is not sure. Voters have not been able to make up their minds on which party to trust on this issue for several years now.

When it comes to the economy, 43% trust Republicans to handle this issue and 39% trust Democrats. Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided. Like immigration, voters are more evenly divided on which party to trust this month. In late March, 49% said Republicans, while 37% said Democrats.

Just under half (49%) trust Republicans to handle the issue of National Security, while 35% trust Democrats. Thirteen percent (13%) are not sure. These findings have remained fairly consistent since early June 2009.
On the issue of Taxes, a slight majority (51%) trust the GOP and 36% trust Democrats to handle this issue. These results, too, have shown little change since early June of last year.

Republican candidates now hold a seven-point lead over Democrats in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

www.rasmussenreports.com

Every Republican needs to support the AZ bill and tell the truth about it.