The Republican 2016 candidates' lack of support for same-sex marriage was bound to be a drag on them in the general election. But
Aaron Blake notes that a new poll has found it's even proving to be a liability with Republican primary voters in early voting states.
The polls, in fact, show that about half of likely GOP caucus and primary voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina said they find opposition to gay marriage either "mostly" or "totally" unacceptable in a candidate. Fifty-two percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire and South Carolina said opposing gay marriage is either mostly or totally unacceptable, while 47 percent of likely Iowa caucus voters agree.
It was an unexpected find in the most recent
NBC News/Marist poll, making opposition to same-sex marriage almost as taboo with GOP voters as raising taxes on the wealthy or supporting comprehensive immigration reform.
By comparison, 63 percent of Iowa voters say belief in man-made climate change (and fighting it) is unacceptable, 56 percent of New Hampshire voters say raising taxes on the wealthy is a non-starter, and 52 percent of South Carolina voters say support for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship is a deal-breaker on one level or another.
In fact, the finding was so surprising that Blake offered possible reasons for the result, noting that non-Republicans are allowed to vote in the GOP primary in New Hampshire and South Carolina. There's also the possibility that the question confused people. That said …
(For what it's worth, though, between 25 and 31 percent of likely GOP voters in each state say opposing gay marriage is "totally unacceptable" -- a number that is on-par with all of these other issues.)