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NASHVILLE – April 7, 2021 – A poll commissioned by The Daily Wire finds that the backlash to Major League Baseball’s recent decision to move its annual All-Star Game out of Atlanta could hurt the league’s bottom-line and that of other corporations that chime in on politics.
The findings of the survey, which was conducted by SurveyMonkey on behalf of The Daily Wire and interviewed a national representative sample of 1,026 Americans, found a growing frustration with the politicization of various facets of public life. Sixty-four percent of Americans — including large majorities of self-identified baseball fans, Delta Air Lines customers, and Coca-Cola buyers — said they are “less likely to support” companies and organizations that insert themselves into political issues and debates.
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Similar to the findings of other recent research surveys, the Daily Wire poll found that 42 percent of Americans support the new Georgia law while 38 percent oppose it. Among those who were familiar with the law, the split is 52-48 percent in favor of it.
The Daily Wire poll provided respondents with summaries (largely paraphrasing descriptions by news organizations) of the law’s key provisions and found that large majorities of Americans — including significant shares of minorities, Democrats, Americans under 45, and MLB fans — back the ID requirement to vote by mail (78 percent); limits on interactions with voters while they wait in line to vote (63 percent); the expansion of early voting in Georgia (77 percent); new rules around the distribution of absentee ballot request forms (65 percent); and the regulation of ballot drop boxes in the state (67 percent). In a separate question, 76 percent of the respondents said campaign workers and organizations should leave voters alone while they are waiting in line to vote while 24 percent said they should be allowed to approach voters.
The study also found that support for the Georgia law grew significantly after Americans heard about its major provisions (29 percent initially said they knew little to nothing about the law). After learning more about them, 71 percent of respondents said they were “more supportive” of the Georgia law. The poll also indicates that voters are wary of hyperbolic characterizations of the legislation with 58 percent — including a majority of non-white Americans and nearly half of MLB fans — saying “politicians and some in the media are exaggerating and making the new Georgia law sound worse than it actually is.”
While Americans begin divided 55 to 45 percent in support of the league’s announcement, opposition to the move quickly grew after voters read about the legislation. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they were “less supportive” of MLB’s decision after learning what it contained.
The Daily Wire poll also found that over two-thirds of Americans, including most baseball fans, are skeptical of MLB’s motives for leaving Atlanta with 67 percent saying the move was driven by “politics and publicity” and 33 percent saying it was a “genuine concern for voters in Georgia.”
The study was conducted by Survey Monkey on April 3-6 and interviewed a sample of 1,026 Americans over 18 that was 31% Republican, 34% Democrat, and 35% Independent. It has a confidence interval of ± 3.5%. Click here to view the survey instrument.
KEY FINDINGS
- MLB is increasingly politically polarizing. While 70 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of Major League Baseball and 30 percent view the organization unfavorably, perceptions of the league now vary by party affiliation.
- 43% of Republicans view the league unfavorably.
- 19% of Democrats view MLB unfavorably.
- 30% of Independents view MLB unfavorably.
- MLB’s political activism is alienating some fans. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents are about equally as likely to have watched MLB games in the past, but the league’s activism is turning off baseball fans, which generally believe that corporations and sports teams should avoid politics:
- 70% of all respondents agree with the statement: “Corporations and sports teams should generally stay out of politics.”
- Among all respondents who watch baseball, 62% agreed with that statement.
- Among Americans who have an unfavorable view of the MLB, 82% do not want corporations and sports teams getting involved in politics.
- MLB’s image took a hit after the Atlanta announcement. Among the 30 percent of all respondents who view MLB unfavorably, 59 percent heard of the league’s decision to relocate the All-Star Game. Of these, 79 percent said the announcement made them feel less favorable toward the organization. The respondents who reacted negatively to MLB’s Atlanta announcement make-up 44 percent of all respondents who said they have a negative view of the league, suggesting Commissioner Rob Manfred’s announcement may have caused the league’s positive rating to decline by as much as 13 points.
- MLB’s decision is polarizing because Americans and its own fans tend to support Georgia’s election law. Our study found 42% of the poll’s respondents support the state’s new voting measures while 38% oppose them. This is consistent with the results of a recent Morning Consult poll that found a nearly identical 42% to 36% split in favor of the legislation. Among MLB fans familiar with the law (excluding those who have not heard of it), 54 percent support it.
- The Georgia law’s major provisions are popular. Our study found the Georgia election law’s key features are popular among diverse cross-sections of the American public.
- 78 percent of respondents, including a majority of Democrats, MLB fans, non-white Americans, and all age groups, support the law’s ID requirement for absentee voting.
- 63 percent of respondents, including a majority of non-whites, MLB fans, all age groups, and 48 percent of Democrats, support the Georgia law’s restrictions on handing out gifts, including refreshments, to voters near polling stations and voting lines.
- 67 percent of respondents, including a majority of Democrats, MLB fans, all age groups, and non-whites, support Georgia’s new policies regulating ballot drop boxes.
- 82 percent of respondents, including a majority of all groups tested, support the Georgia election law’s provisions requiring the state to monitor voting locations and reduce voting lines at polling stations with long lines.
- 77 percent of respondents, including a majority of all groups, favor Georgia’s expansion of early voting to require two Saturdays and offer up to two Sundays.
- 65 percent of respondents, including 49 percent of Democrats, 55 percent of MLB fans, all age groups, and 62 percent of non-white Americans, favor Georgia’s new policy allowing election offices to only send ballot request forms to voters who have requested them.
- 81 percent of respondents said they favor the Georgia law’s provision allowing election officials to provide self-service water stations to voters waiting in line.
- Americans want voters to be left alone while waiting in line to vote. Given the media coverage of the Georgia voting law’s provision limiting contact with voters while they are waiting in line to vote, we asked the respondents whether campaigns and political organizations should be allowed to approach voters or if voters should be left alone. Seventy-six percent of the respondents, including 71 percent of MLB fans, said voters should be left alone while waiting in line to vote.
- Support for MLB’s decision significantly declines once Americans hear about what the Georgia law actually contains. After reviewing the law’s key provisions, 71 percent of the poll’s respondents said they are now more supportive of the measure, including 70 percent of Americans under 45; 60 percent of Democrats; 71 percent of MLB fans; and perhaps most notably, 63 percent of those who initially favored MLB’s decision to relocate the All-Star Game.
- 54 percent of respondents said they were less supportive of MLB’s decision to leave Atlanta after they learned about the new Georgia election law. Although 55 percent of Americans begun the poll saying they backed MLB’s announcement, after hearing about the law’s key provisions, over half (54 percent) then said they became “less supportive” of the league’s action.
- Americans believe politicians and some in the media are exaggerating when it comes to the Georgia law. Fifty-eight percent of respondents, including a majority of MLB fans, said politicians and some in the media are making the new Georgia election law sound worse than it actually is. Forty-two percent said politicians and the media are being “fair and accurate” in their criticisms.
- Most Americans think MLB’s motives for moving the All-Star Game were driven by “politics and publicity.” Another reason why the Atlanta announcement is unlikely to provide the brand with a lasting boost is because most Americans doubt the sincerity of the announcement. Sixty-seven percent of respondents — including nearly half of those who initially support the league’s decision and 59 percent of MLB fans — say the league’s motivation to part ways with Atlanta is primarily “politics and publicity,” rather than a “genuine concern for voters in Georgia.”
ABOUT THE STUDY
The online poll of 1,026 adults was conducted by SurveyMonkey between April 3-6, 2021 and has a confidence interval of ± 3.5%. The survey’s sample is 31% Republican, 34% Democrat, and 35% Independent. The 2020 voting preference of the sample was Biden +7.4 (vs. an actual result of Biden +4.5), indicating the sample has a slight Democratic bent, but within its margin of error.
MEDIA GUIDANCE
Please feel free to characterize this as “a national poll conducted by SurveyMonkey that was commissioned by The Daily Wire.” This is not a poll of Daily Wire members. The online sample was provided by SurveyMonkey.
ABOUT THE DAILY WIRE
The Daily Wire is one of America’s leading sources of news and conservative political commentary. Founded by Jeremy Boreing, Ben Shapiro, and Caleb Robinson in 2015, The Daily Wire does not claim to be without bias. We’re opinionated, we’re noisy, and we’re having a good time.