Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Marriage could be game changer in governor's race.

We held a press conference releasing a poll on marriage, marriage amendment and effect on governor's race. Very interesting results. 54% of likely voters want support marriage between one man and one woman, 60% say the people should decide the issue not the state legislature or the courts, and 36% said they would switch candidates support based on the candidate's position on marriage. Of that 36%, about 7 in 10 would switch to a pro-marriage candidate.

When people were surveyed on the gubernatorial candidates in late August, Dayton had 42%, Emmer 33% and Horner 12%. When people found out where they stood on marriage and allowing the people to vote, it swung the election to Emmer with 42%, Dayton 36% and Horner 9%.

Certainly, the economy and jobs are the paramount issue in people's minds with unemployment over 9.5% nationwide. But marriage is a critical issue. It's both a private and public institution which people feel strongly about, especially those who believe it's a God-ordained institution between a man and a woman. I would argue the economy and marriage are intimately related. In fact, the economy ultimately stands on the well-being our families and marriage. When marriage break up so will our economy. Fact is children raised by a single parent are 5 to 6 times more likely to live in poverty.

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