Voters to GOP: Don't Falter at the Alter
Republican voters don't just support natural marriage -- they expect their candidates to! That was abundantly clear Tuesday, when local exit polls starting streaming in. For conservatives, the data was a gold mine on social issues that will help debunk the Left's tall tales about the popularity of same-sex "marriage." In state after state, voters refused to give an inch on marriage -- and instead exposed how exaggerated the cultural shift has been.
Despite what the media would have you believe, the public opinion battle has been a bigger one than the Left bargained for -- with most Americans' views barely budging on an institution the courts are so anxious to redefine. A month after a Pew poll showed support for same-sex "marriage" dipping, the issue was front and center in a few key Senate races -- including North Carolina, Iowa, and Arkansas.
Thom Tillis, who, just weeks ago, was down in his race, starting picking up steam when he took a public stand to defend the Tarheels' marriage amendment (which 57% still support). That's consistent with the stories in Kansas with Senator Pat Roberts (R) and Iowa, where Joni Ernst never wavered on a topic too many moderates run from. As much as the Republican Establishment hates to admit it, marriage was a key ingredient in the recipe to defeat Democrats.
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The numbers bear that out in at least seven states where pollsters asked the question. Seven out of 10 voters in my home state of Louisiana said they opposed same-sex "marriage," which is almost identical to their northern neighbors in Arkansas, where 69% rejected the idea. In Virginia, where candidate Ed Gillespie stood with marriage, 53% of Virginians stood with him and disagreed with the move to redefine marriage. South Carolina, home of newly-elected social conservative Senator Tim Scott (R), two-thirds of voters identified with him on marriage. Georgia (62%) and Ohio (a majority) echoed the pro-marriage refrain. Of the exit stats we could find, only Florida was competitive -- with the two sides dead even (48% to 48%) on the question.
Of course, this is all consistent with what Americans have said with their ballots -- both for and against marriage amendments in their home states. For all the Left's hype, only three states have actively voted to redefine marriage -- which barely adds up to about 5% of the population -- hardly the consensus liberals claim it is. Rasmussen, Fox News, and even Politico polling have all shown the debate holding steady despite -- or maybe because of -- the assault from the courts. As plenty of Tuesday's candidates will tell you, supporting marriage doesn't just put you on the right side of history -- but the right side of the win column too!
