Poll: Most voters say gun policy will be major factor in midterm vote

A majority of Americans say that politicians’ views on gun control and gun ownership will have an influence on their votes in November’s midterm elections, a Marist poll finds.

More than eight in ten Americans, 85 percent, say a candidate’s views on gun control will affect their vote, including 59 percent who said such positions would be a “major factor” on their vote.

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When it comes to what Americans want to see done about mass shootings, more still support tougher gun laws. Seventy-one percent of Americans, including 58 percent of gun owners, say restrictions on gun ownership should be tightened, up from 64 percent in the same poll last October.

Just 23 percent of Americans say gun laws should remain the same while 5 percent say the laws should be less strict.

Support for an assault weapons ban is more divided.

Just over half of Americans, 54 percent, would support a congressional candidate who favors banning such weapons, while the poll finds that 57 percent of gun owners would vote against such a candidate. Support for an assault weapons ban among gun owners sits at 35 percent.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) remains unpopular with Democrats and popular with Republicans, while independent voters are close to evenly split on the gun rights organization.

Eighty percent of Democrats said they would vote against a candidate who took NRA donations, compared to 70 percent of Republicans who say they would vote for such a candidate. Fifty-one percent of independent voters would vote against an NRA-supported candidate, according to the poll.

Marist College surveyed 1,026 adults between Feb. 20 and Feb. 21, 2018, and the poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.