New Poll: 58% Californians favor Marriage Equality

In the new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll, we see more Cali folks supporting gay marriage. At least 58% believe gay marriage should be legal. A 6 point lead from three years ago.

Here are some key findings:

• At least half of all ethnic groups surveyed favor same-sex marriage. Whites are most supportive (61%) followed by Asians (58%) Latinos (51%) and African Americans (50%).

• Most national polls this year have found majority support, but only one of those surveys reported it as high as 58%. The average was roughly 51% in favor of gay marriage. As in the rest of the country, more women (63%) than men (52%) in California favor same-sex marriage.

• Younger California voters also support gay marriage by larger margins than older voters, the poll found. Whereas 76% of voters ages 18 to 29 support legalizing the unions, only 52% of those ages 50 to 64 agree.

• Still, the shifts among older voters are dramatic. Voters 65 and older are now almost evenly divided — 46% in favor, 47% against — compared with just three years ago, when seniors opposed gay marriage by 19 percentage points.

• Support is strongest in the Bay Area (69%), followed by Sacramento, the rest of Northern California and the Central Coast (59%), Los Angeles County (58%) and all of Southern California (52%).

• The only region without majority support is the Central Valley, where voters who have an opinion are evenly divided, 45% in favor, and 45% against, a six-point jump in support from three years ago. The rise in support across all regions has occurred since 2009.