One in four Indiana Republicans say that stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into the state is the most important issue for the governor and state legislature to focus on, according to a recent poll commissioned for Indy Politics and Crossroads Public Affairs.
In a survey of 500 likely Republican Primary voters taken between March 24th and 25th, 25% say stopping the flow of illegal immigrants is their most important issue, while 18% say tackling inflation to provide relief to taxpayers, 14% say creating jobs and attracting and retaining businesses, and 11% say fighting violent crime and drugs.
Women are far more concerned about illegal immigrants with 31% reporting it as their most important issue, with tackling inflation at 17% and creating jobs at 13%. Among men, there is a tie between stopping the flow of illegal immigrants and tackling inflation at 19%.
Illegal immigrants are also a far more pressing issue for older voters. 30% of seniors and 28% of 50–64-year-olds list it as their number issue. However, among 18–34-year-olds, tackling inflation is more important at 25%, creating jobs at 22%, and something else at 17%. Just 12% list illegal immigrants as their most important issue.
“Immigration is a major issue all around the country and Indiana is no exception,” said pollster Andrew Weissert. “It’ll be front and center in the presidential election this fall and it’s an issue very important to Republican voters right now.”
We also asked about ballot access requirements for Republican candidates and whether Republican primary voters support the current requirements or would favor loosening restrictions. 61% of Republicans said they support the current ballot access requirements that prohibit candidates from running for office if their last two primary votes do not align with the party they wish to represent or they have not received an exception from their local County Chairman. Just 24% say requirements should be loosened.
Lastly, we asked whether Republican primary voters supported or opposed marijuana legalization, either for medicinal or recreational use. 67% support some type of legalization, with 33% indicating support for recreational use and 34% supporting medicinal use only. 28% oppose legalization of any kind. Support is strongest among young Republicans with 77% of 18–34-year-olds supporting some type of legalization (54% support full legalization for recreational use). Even among seniors, 62% support legalization, however by a 2-to-1 margin, that support is for medicinal use only.
