SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — A majority of Iowans are opposed of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ school choice bill. That’s according to the results of Morningside University’s annual poll of Iowans.
The results of the poll, which is student-led, were revealed during a press conference Tuesday morning which was live-streamed to the university’s YouTube page.
“First and foremost, it is a student-led research initiative that really fulfills Morningside’s commitment to civic education,” Valarie Hennings, Director for the Colonel Bud Day Center for civic engagement.
The results were revealed by students in a number of key categories including the most what respondents felt was the most important issue facing the state and the nation, approval rating for some of the top elected officials in Iowa, and trust in healthcare providers.
One fellow, Maggie Barten, said she was surprised at the number of respondents who said that they trust their healthcare professional to deliver accurate information. The poll said that about 84% of Iowans trust their healthcare professional while only 14% distrust their healthcare professional.
“As a healthcare professional, I was surprised by the respondent and expecting more to say they do not trust healthcare based on personal experience. It is reassuring to hear that over 80% of Iowans trust their healthcare professional,” Barten said during the press conference.
When it came to support for Reynolds’ education bill the majority of respondents, 52%, did not support her school choice bill. The students said these numbers were heavily influenced by party, with 85% of democrats opposing or strongly opposing the bill and 63% of republicans supporting or strongly supporting the bill.
Also in the study, Iowans were asked about their approval ratings for elected officials. President Joe Biden had the highest disapproval score with about 56% of Iowans surveyed disapproving of Biden. Biden was followed by Governor Kim Reynolds with a 50% disapproval rating. Senator Joni Ernst had the lowest disapproval rating with 46.5% and Senator Chuck Grassley had a 48.7% disapproval rating.
According to the students not a single politician had an approval rating of over 50% approval rating.
Read the rest of the results below:
The poll was conducted by randomly dialing Iowa phone numbers. Respondents were asked 2 open-ended and 2 close-ended questions. 600 responses were received with 40% coming from landlines and the rest coming from cell phones.
The responses were collected during the week of February 13. Interviews averaged 13-minutes long and the poll had a margin of error of 4%.
Read the full report of the poll’s methodology below:
