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The New York Times
Have Scant Impact on
U.S. Voters
By REUTER from
nytimes.com on the Web, August 8, 2007
WASHINGTON -- It does not
matter to most voters in three key U.S. states whether a presidential candidate
has the backing of gay rights groups, according to a new poll on Wednesday.
Ahead of a Thursday night debate for Democrats in Los Angeles devoted to gay
issues, Quinnipiac University's Swing State Poll asked about the impact of
campaign endorsements by gay groups on voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In Ohio, 54 percent say such endorsements make no difference, while 34 percent
said it would make them less likely to support a candidate and 10 percent said
it would make them more likely to back a campaign.
The numbers were similar for Pennsylvania and Florida.
At the same time an endorsement by a labor union was an overall positive in all
three states.
"Being perceived as the candidate of gay rights turns off more voters than it
attracts, although in general being considered the candidate of a special
interest group seems to be a political loser," said Peter Brown, assistant
director of Quinnipiac's polling unit.
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