Most Oklahomans "Back The Blue" According to Newest Data

Law enforcement officers have the support of most Oklahoma voters according to the latest data gathered and analyzed by SoonerPoll. In light of nationwide efforts to defund police departments, including in Oklahoma, we asked voters two questions regarding police presence on the streets and whether the ‘defund the police’ movement presents a genuine safety threat to law enforcement officers.

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SoonerPoll surveyed 299 likely voters -- Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Independents -- across the state. The survey is stratified to represent Oklahoma's likely voter population.

[QUESTION] Here are several statements about current Oklahoman issues. For each one, please tell me whether you agree or disagree with the statement:

"Defunding or reducing police budgets is decreasing the recruitment of new officers and increasing early retirement rates among current officers resulting in the reduction of police officers on the street."

1. Strongly Agree: 46.9%
2. Somewhat Agree: 17.6
3. Don’t Know/Undecided: 10.1
4. Somewhat Disagree: 11.7
5. Strongly Disagree: 13.7

Politics and race appear to heavily influence people’s perspective on this issue.

A combined 65.8% of White voters agree with the statement, 73.3% of Native Americans agree, and 81.8% of Hispanics agree. However, only 17.0% of Black voters agree and 63.4% disagree.

Just over seventy-five percent of Republicans strongly agree with the statement while 11.3% somewhat agree for a combined agreement of 86.7% among GOP voters. On the other end of the spectrum, just 34.5% of Democrats agree and a combined47.4% disagree. Among Independents, 62.5% agree and 20.7% disagree.

"By pursuing defunding the police initiatives and other policing limitations, elected officials have contributed to an anti-cop environment that is getting more and more police officers hurt or killed."

1. Strongly Agree: 45.6%
2. Somewhat Agree: 15.0
3. Don’t Know/Undecided: 3.7
4. Somewhat Disagree: 12.0
5. Strongly Disagree: 23.8

Once again, political affiliation and race played key factors in shaping people’s views.

A combined 43.8% of Hispanics agree that the current political climate poses a safety risk to officers, 61.8% of White voters agree, and 73.3% of Native Americans agree. However, only 18.4% of Black voters agree and 71.0% of Black voters disagree.

Again, just over seventy-five percent of Republicans strongly agree with the statement while 11.3% somewhat agree for a combined agreement of 86.7% among GOP voters. Conversely, 34.5% of Democrats agree and a combined 47.4% disagree. Independents are split with 51.1% who agree and 43.0% who disagree.

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About the Poll

SoonerPoll.com, Oklahoma’s public opinion pollster, asked these questions of Oklahoma likely voters as part of the SoonerPoll Quarterly Poll.

The scientific study was conducted from July 21-August13, 2021 with 300 likely Oklahoma voters selected at random statewide from a tri-frame of both landline telephone and cell phones, plus SoonerPoll's proprietary online panel. The sample was weighted by age, gender, and congressional district in order to reflect the Oklahoma likely voter population for a general election. The weighting was conducted using a 'layered technique.'

The sample reflects the traditional demographical profile of the Oklahoma likely voter with roughly half of respondents identifying as conservative and attending religious services once or more per week. The study has a Margin of Error (MoE) of ±5.67 percent.

A complete description of the methodology can be found here.

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