Democratic-leaning pollster Tom Jensen defended his latest survey on Monday that tied various senators’ nose-diving approval numbers to their “no” votes on a bill to boost background checks for gun purchases.
Earlier in the day, one of the senators, Jeff Flake (R-AZ), attacked the Public Policy Polling survey, which showed 52 percent of Arizona voters were less likely to vote for him in the future because of the way he voted on the bill. It also showed his overall approval rating in Arizona had fallen to 32 percent. “If we believed PPP polls,” Flake told The Daily Caller, “I wouldn’t be here at all.”
But Jensen stood by his results in an afternoon conference call with reporters. Asked by TPM whether Flake’s work as a leading figure in the effort to overhaul the nation’s immigration system may have had a role in the approval decline, Jensen said it was a little unclear but that guns remained a major issue.
“There’s more than one piece in the puzzle,” Jensen said. But he insisted that Flake’s gun vote is a “big part of why his numbers have fallen so fast.”
He noted that Flake has also been scrutinized more than most senators on the issue because of the shooting that injured former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six people. “In Arizona, there’s been a more heavy focus on this than in other states,” Jensen said.
He also said PPP will conduct a more comprehensive poll in Arizona at some point in the future that measures support and opposition for immigration reform.
