New Poll Shows Disconnect Between Voters and Lawmakers Who Favor Prevailing Wage Repeal
A new poll shows that proposals to eliminate prevailing wage protections are disconnected from the concerns and attitudes of voters, and that proponents of such proposals could find themselves in precarious political peril, particularly among conservative voters.
The poll was conducted with voters in Arizona by Public Policy Polling, and 79% of the poll’s respondents indicated that they had voted for Donald Trump for President.
Voters’ dissatisfaction with Sen. Flake stems from his unpopular policy positions. Just 18% of Arizona voters and 28% of Arizona Republican primary voters support Sen. Flake’s US Senate Bill 195, which pledges to end prevailing wage requirements for construction projects, while 51% and 39% oppose it.
51% of overall state voters and 48% of state Republican voters say Flake’s sponsorship of SB195 makes them less likely to vote for Flake’s re-election bid. When voters hear about the many veterans in the construction industry who would have their wages slashed by SB195, that number increases further, to 60% less likely and 55% less likely.
PPP surveyed 1,467 Arizona voters and 728 Arizona Republican primary voters from February 7-8, 2017. The margin of error for the general statewide sample is +/-2.6 %, while the Republican primary sample has a margin of error of +/-3.6 %. This poll was conducted by automated telephone interviews. 80% of interviews for the poll were conducted over the phone with 20% interviewed over the internet to reach respondents who don’t have landline telephones. This poll was sponsored by ReBuild USA.