INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) – Hoosiers oppose the recent abortion bill signed into law in March. Voters do support an expansion of housing employment, and public accommodation rights to the LGBT community.
The WTHR/HPI Indiana Poll asked voters: "Do you support or oppose an expansion of civil rights covering jobs, housing, and public accommodation to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, also known as LGBT?"
According to the WTHR/HPI Indiana Poll, Indiana voters support the LGBT rights expansion 58% to 36%.
The poll shows a split along party lines with 89% of Democrats supporting the rights expansion with 11% opposing. Independents were split with 59% supporting and 35% opposing while 35% of Republicans support expansion with 56% opposing the measure.
Men at least 55 years old oppose rights expansion 47% to 51% but the rest of the demographic categories support the movement for more LGBT rights.
Support for more rights was highest among 18 to 54 year old women with a 72% to 26% spread.
The WTHR/HPI Indiana Poll also asked: "Governor Mike Pence recently signed a bill that would prevent a woman from having an abortion based on detected birth defects. The bill also requires the burial or cremation of the fetus. Do you support or oppose this bill?"
Poll respondents opposed the abortion bill 56% to 37%. In the demographic breakdown, only the Republican category supported the bill by a 57% to 37% margin. The geographic and gender breakdowns all show varying degrees of opposition to the abortion bill. The most vocal group opposing the new law was women with 61% opposing the bill to 35% supporting it.
Social issues are a large part of how the public currently feels about Pence according to Gene Ulm with Public Opinion Strategies. Ulm said the results are the reason the gubernatorial race is currently tight but will likely not decide the election.
Ulm suggested the race between Pence and challenger John Gregg would likely come down to economic factors.
Coming up later tonight, WTHR will release more information on how the voters feel about trusting Pence and Gregg.
WTHR commissioned the poll with Howey Politics Indiana. The poll surveyed 500 likely voters via landline or cell phone in the state from April 18-21. It has a four-point margin of error.