Obama Had Broad Support, Young Voters Supported Tax Increases, Los Angeles Exit Poll Shows

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Barack Obama enjoyed broad support across every demographic of voters in the city of Los Angeles, according to an exit poll conducted by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.

City voters chose the president over challenger Mitt Romney nearly four-to-one: 78 percent of those polled said they voted for Obama, versus 22 percent for Romney. Obama had a double-digit advantage in all age groups, all ethnicities, and all religions. The only category Romney led was among Los Angeles Republicans, where he won 83 percent of the vote.

"What's surprising about the result is that the president's support remained so strong in Los Angeles, to the point that he picked up more of John McCain's 2008 voters than Romney took from Obama's column," said Professor Fernando Guerra, director of the center.

The exit poll also found that younger voters in Los Angeles were more likely to vote in favor of Propositions 30 and 38, both of which would increase taxes statewide (Prop. 30 passed while Prop. 38 failed). Younger voters also threw more support behind Measure J, which extends an existing sales tax in Los Angeles County that would otherwise expire in 2039.

"Young voters were far more willing to approve a tax increase, but typically younger voters have not yet reached the higher income brackets that will be most affected by those increases," Guerra said.