Sports betting, abortion-rights & Republicans lead in November election: Poll

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – A poll from Saint Louis University and YouGov gives insight into Missouri voters ahead of the November election.

For the poll, YouGov interviewed 1,154 registered voters in Missouri to screen for and survey likely voters in the state. The registered voters were then matched down to a sample of 988, yielding a target subsample of 900 likely voters.

The survey was in the field from Aug. 8 to Aug. 16.

November Election Outlook

If the President of the United States election were held today, Donald Trump would win Missouri with 54% of the votes. Kamala Harris had 41% of the votes, while others and not sure made up 5% of the votes.

The poll found that Republicans Josh Hawley, Mike Kehoe, David Wasinger, Andrew Bailey, Vivek Malek, and Dennis Hoskins would win their races with over 50% of the vote.

Director of the poll, Associate Professor of political science at SLU Steven Rogers said with leads in the double-digits, it is an uphill climb for Democrats.

“So if I had to make a prediction for November I would predict the Republicans will sweep again at the statewide level,” said Rogers.

The poll found that 52% of respondents would support the abortion-rights amendment. Rogers said while the state has anti-abortion tendencies, people generally don’t support complete abortion bans.

“This is maybe an area where the legislature is a little out of step so they’re going through the petition initiative process,” said Rogers.

One potential surprise is Sen. Josh Hawley has overtaken Gov. Mike Parson as the most popular politician in Missouri, with an approval rating of 53%.

“It’s gone up seven points, his approval rating, just in the last two years,” said Rogers. “He is the most popular political figure we polled in the SLU/YouGov poll. Usually this is a title held by Governor Parson and now Josh Hawley has barely edged him out.”

When it comes to legalizing sports betting in Missouri, 50% of respondents support the move.

The poll found that 57% of those surveyed support increasing the minimum wage to $13.75 per hour.

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Job Approval Ratings

The poll asked respondents if they approve or disprove of the way some elected officials are doing their job.

The highest approval ratings were found for The Missouri State Legislator, US Supreme Court, Gov. Mike Parson, Sen. Josh Hawley and Sen. Eric Schmitt.

Those who had the largest vote percentages for disapproval in their job were President Joe Biden and the US Congress.

Gun Policies

The poll asked respondents whether they favor or oppose several gun policies becoming law in Missouri.

The Majority of respondents approve of criminal background checks being required for all gun purchases, banning minors from carrying guns on public property without adult supervision and allowing Missourians with a concealed carry permit to have a gun on public transit and in places of worship.

When it comes to allowing Missouri counties, St. Louis City and Kansas City to pass their own local gun regulations, 49% oppose the idea.

Other Topics Surveyed

When it comes to Major League Baseball teams, the poll found that 41% of people across the state favor the St. Louis Cardinals. The Kansas City Royals took 20% of the votes, and 26% of respondents stated they don’t have a favorite team.

As the Kansas City Royals eye a potentially new ballpark, the survey asked where funding should come from for professional sports facilities. Respondents believe the majority of the funding should come from the team’s owners, while less than 18% should come from the Missouri State Government.

Respondents were asked to weigh in on school start times. 52% said they support school start times beginning at 8:30 a.m. or later.

72% of the respondents support prohibiting high school students from accessing their cell phones during school hours. Even more, 79% of respondents, support prohibiting high school students from accessing their cell phones during class.

When asked about reducing the school-week from five to four days, 42% are opposed a shorter week, 30% support the change and 27% said they were not sure. The greatest concern respondents had to a possible four-day school week was childcare. The greatest benefit of a possible four-day school week was found to be increased student engagement.

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