The Zogby Poll: A Strong Majority of California Voters Support Black Lives Matter

Published: Monday, 28 September 2020 13:39
Written by Zogby

A new Zogby Poll® of California likely voters examined their support for today’s most headline-generating political organizations and controversial fringe groups, some of which have been deemed extremist, racist, and violent by the media, public, and government agencies.

Overall, Black Lives Matter (BLM) had the strongest support among surveyed California voters. A Majority of surveyed Californians, regardless of their ethnicity, age, income religion, education, and gender, at least somewhat supported the BLM movement, which has staged protests across the country to bring attention to police brutality and systemic racism.

A whopping 70% of California voters at least somewhat supported Black Lives Matter (BLM), while 28% at least somewhat opposed the political organization. Support was strongest among younger voters aged 18-24 (82% at least somewhat support/16% at least somewhat oppose) and aged 18-29 (80% at least somewhat support/19% at least somewhat oppose) and weakest among older voters aged 50-64 (61% at least somewhat support/38% at least somewhat oppose). A majority of Republicans (44% at least somewhat support/55% at least somewhat oppose) opposed Black Lives Matter. Democrats (88% at least somewhat support/12% at least somewhat oppose) were extremely supportive of BLM, while Independents (63% at least somewhat support/33% at least somewhat oppose) were less so, but still at least somewhat supported the group.

In addition to Black Lives Matter, we also asked voters about their support for other organizations that have dominated the news cycle. One group that has received a lot of attention as of late is Antifa, due to their recent spate of protests and violent clashes in cities across the country. More than one in five California voters said they at least somewhat supported the violent left-wing extremist group, while 47% said they at least somewhat opposed the group.

Nearly a third (31%) of surveyed California voters aged 18-29 (37% at least somewhat oppose /32% not familiar), at least somewhat supported Antifa, which has taken responsibility for riots, assault, vandalism and murder. Older generations were markedly less enthusiastic. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of voters over 65 at least somewhat opposed Antifa, while only 8% supported it -29% were not familiar. Nearly a quarter (24%) of California Democrats at least somewhat supported Antifa, while 40% denounced the group.

We also looked at right wing extremist groups such as “The Proud Boys” (17% at least somewhat support/31% at least somewhat oppose, 52% not familiar) and QANON (16% at least somewhat support/40% at least somewhat oppose, 44% not familiar). QANON was most popular among men (25% at least somewhat support/41% at least somewhat oppose, 34% not familiar), voters aged 30-49 (28% at least somewhat support/35% at least somewhat oppose, 38% not familiar) and large city voters (29% at least somewhat support/33% at least somewhat oppose, 38% not familiar). While slightly more voters supported Antifa compared to The Proud Boys and QANON, support among Republicans (30% each) for these extremist groups was stronger than among Democrats for Antifa.

Outside of BLM, no other political organization received a majority of support from surveyed voters in California. The pro-police organization, Blue Lives Matter, received slightly under a majority support (48% at least somewhat support/31% at least somewhat oppose). This group received the strongest support from older voters aged 50-64 (52% at least somewhat support/24% at least somewhat oppose), Republicans (66% at least somewhat support/20% at least somewhat oppose) and rural voters (57% at least somewhat support/26% at least somewhat oppose). Blue Lives Matter received the most opposition from the youngest voters aged 18-24 (32% at least somewhat support/55% at least somewhat oppose) and African Americans (32% at least somewhat support/41% at least somewhat oppose.

We also tested political and economic ideologies among surveyed California voters. Since many protestors are talking about the “rigged” financial system and the “redistribution of wealth” we wanted to know what voters thought about two of the most important political and economic ideologies of the twentieth century-Marxism and communism. A majority of voters at least somewhat opposed the practices of Marxism (57% at least somewhat oppose/16% at least somewhat support) and communism (71% at least somewhat oppose/16% at least somewhat support). While there was little overall support for these ideologies, support was stronger among California Republicans than among Democrats.

In regards to communism, Republican vs. Democratic support was two to one (24% to 12%, respectively) and was nearly the same when it came to Marxism: Republican vs. Democratic support was 24% to 14%, respectively. Support for Marxism and communism was also more intense among large city voters (26% at least somewhat support/60% at least somewhat oppose-communism) compared to voters living in the suburbs (11% at least somewhat support/81% at least somewhat oppose-communism). The same was the case for Marxism-it was much more popular in large cities (30% at least somewhat support/45% at least somewhat oppose) compared to the suburbs (8% at least somewhat support/67% at least somewhat oppose).

Finally, we also asked California voters if they supported or opposed California seceding from the United States. Overall, three in ten California voters supported secession, while half at least somewhat opposed and 20% were not sure. Support for secession was strongest among voters aged 30-49 (43% at least somewhat support/38% at least somewhat oppose), men (41% at least somewhat support/48% at least somewhat oppose), Republicans (36% at least somewhat support/49% at least somewhat oppose) and large city voters (42% at least somewhat support/40% at least somewhat oppose).

Opposition to California seceding was strongest among older voters aged 50-64 (22% at least somewhat support/56% at least somewhat oppose), white voters (31% at least somewhat support/55% at least somewhat oppose), voters without college degrees (25% at least somewhat support/50% at least somewhat oppose), voters living in small cities (27% at least somewhat support/55% at least somewhat oppose) and voters living in the suburbs (21% at least somewhat support/56% at least somewhat oppose).