Pennsylvania has undergone major shifts politically in the last 20 years

Franklin and Marshall College poll compared 2000 to now

• Scott LaMar
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  Scott LaMar has worked in both radio and television for more than four decades.
  
  Currently, LaMar is the Host and Executive Producer of The Spark program on WITF-FM, 89.5 & 93.3 in Harrisburg, Pa.
  
  Previously, LaMar was WITF TV’s Sr. Public Affairs producer and produced the station’s award-winning weekly public affairs TV program, Smart Talk.
  
  In addition to his on-air duties, LaMar has moderated political candidate debates, including those for candidates running for Pennsylvania governor and the U.S. Senate and was a regular contributor to BBC World News TV before and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
  
  LaMar often emcees or moderates local events and has gone as far as California to emcee a national event.
  
  The American Society of Civil Engineers honored LaMar with their national Excellence in Journalism award in 2020. He has been nominated for five Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
  
  LaMar and The Spark have been recognized throughout the Central Pennsylvania community including ADVOZ Lancaster’s “Dignity in Dialogue Award”, the South-Central Assembly’s “Regional Citizen Award” and was named a “Humanitarian Hero” by The Humane Society of the United States/Pennsylvania.
  
  A native of Coatesville, Pa., LaMar has also worked as a broadcast news anchor, sports play-by-play announcer and manager.

 Alex Brandon / AP Photo

FILE PHOTO: Ed Gillespie fills out his ballot at his polling place Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in Alexandria, Va.

Airdate: July 14th, 2023

 

Pennsylvania has undergone some major changes politically in the last 20 years. That’s the broad description of the findings of the Franklin and Marshall College poll that examined trends in voters’ registration, ideology, how Pennsylvania identify themselves politically, and on two major social issues – gun control and abortion.

Berwood Yost, Director of the Center for Opinion Research and the Floyd Institute for Public Policy at Franklin & Marshall College appeared on The Spark Friday and said the surface results of the poll like whether Pennsylvanians identify themselves as conservative, liberal or moderate haven’t changed much. But Yost indicated that looking below the surface there have been major shifts,”In 2000, about 49% of Republicans said they were conservative. About 37% said they were moderate and 9%, believe or not, said they were liberal. Fast forward 23 years to today. It is now 70% of Republicans who identify as conservative, only 24% as moderate and 2% as liberal. So, you’ve seen a huge movement to conservatives, the conservative ideology, far fewer moderate Republican voters than there used to be. On the Democratic side, you have more folks identifying as liberal. They went from 31 to 40% and fewer as conservative at 9% with most Democrats, however, remaining moderate. And so, one of the, I think, interesting changes and one of the points that I make out make in this article is that the the battleground in Pennsylvania, in battleground Pennsylvania is really among these moderate voters. They are the state’s single largest ideological group.”

The research also showed that on two major social issues — gun regulation and abortion — voters in the two parties have diverged significantly. In 2000, 51% of Republicans strongly or somewhat favored creating more laws to regulate gun ownership. Today, 29% of Republicans strongly or somewhat support new gun laws while 68% strongly or somewhat oppose. Democrats went from 66% strongly or somewhat supporting new gun laws in 2000 to 83% now. On abortion, Democrats support for abortion being legal under any circumstances went from 27% in 2000 to 52% now. Republicans support for abortion legal under certain circumstances went up from 54% in 2000 to 65% in 2022. 23% of Republicans said abortion should illegal in all circumstances compared to 4% of Democrats.

Voter registrations changed based on geography. Yost pointed out the Democrats have essentially lost western Pennsylvania outside Pittsburgh while flipping the suburbs around Philadelphia from Republicans to Democrat.