ST. LOUIS – Exactly seven weeks out from the November general election, FOX 2 News released the results of our exclusive, new Emerson College/The Hill/Nexstar poll.
The lopsided results are stunning from the race for the White House, the Missouri Governor’s race, the U.S. Senate race from Missouri and top Missouri ballot issues like abortion rights and sports gaming .
Amendment 3, which would lift Missouri’s abortion ban, has nearly 58% support from the 850 voters polled late last week, with just 30% opposed and 12% undecided.
The group Students for Life opposes Amendment 3 and is campaigning for a dramatic reversal.
Members visited St. Louis area college campuses Tuesday toting a mobile digital billboard. They pointed to amendment language that allows but does not require abortions to be restricted to the first six months of pregnancy.
“It’s very tricky and very confusing on the ballot,” Morgan Tiemeyer, Students for Life, said. “That’s why I encourage people to go look at the ballot and what the ballot actually says.”
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The same people strongly support Republican candidates who are against abortion in important races.
At this point, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe is ahead of Democratic State Rep. Crystal Quade by more than 15 points, with 52% of the vote to 36%. Josh Hawley, the Republican incumbent U.S. Senator, is ahead of Lucas Kunce by 11 points, with 51% to 40%.
Trump has a big lead over Karris in the Missouri presidential race, with 53% of the vote to 42%.
Matt Taglia, senior polling director at Emerson College, said, “Abortion can win, but so can Trump and other Republicans on the ballot.” “These people don’t vote based on a single issue.”
Casinos in Missouri are now spending millions of dollars to stop Amendment 2, which would let people bet on sports in the state. These millions are going to Missourians Against the Deceptive Gambling Amendment.
The best professional sports teams in Missouri support the measure, but people who are against it say it gives unfair advantages to mobile gaming giants like Draft Kings and Fan Duel. They also say it promises tens of millions of dollars in tax money for public schools, but that only amounts to about $30 per student.
Spokesman Brooke Foster said, “We think that once Missourians learn what the measure promises but can’t deliver upon, which is education funding, we think that the needle will move and people will be much less likely to vote ‘Yes’ and instead vote ‘No’ on Amendment 2.”
However, 52% of people polled said “Yes,” while only 25% said “No.” This is a difference of more than 2 to 1.
“Voters in Missouri know that sports betting has the potential to do amazing things for our students and teachers,” said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for the Winning for Education Missouri campaign, which is mostly funded by DraftKings and FanDuel.
“The money made from legal sports betting will help our schools and give the whole state’s schools much-needed funding to make them better.”
In the study, about 23% of people who could vote were not sure about Amendment 2.