64% in Voter Survey Oppose Impeachment

CLAREMONT —  The San Gabriel Valley wants its representatives in Congress to vote against impeachment, according to a post-election survey of 500 residents who voted Nov. 3.

Conducted by Claremont McKenna College’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government, the survey asked voters: What would you want your member of Congress to do if there is a vote on impeaching President Clinton?

Only 24% of respondents said they would want their representative to vote for impeachment, while 64% said they wanted a vote against impeachment; 11% gave responded that they didn’t know.

The impeachment question was one of 67 questions that made up the initial San Gabriel Valley Annual Survey, which was commissioned by the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership. Half the Republican respondents, but only one in 10 Democrats wanted a vote for impeachment. In terms of ethnicity, minority voters (71%) were more likely than white voters (59%) to want a vote against impeachment. A distinct gender gap emerged, with women (28%) more likely than men (20%) to want a vote for impeachment.

The survey results gain significance in light of the impending vote on impeachment in the U.S. House of Representatives. Also adding significance to the finding is the marked similarity of the San Gabriel Valley to California’s demographic profile. The valley has much the same mix of ethnic and income groups as the state as a whole.