Poll: 58 Percent of Voters Favor Iran Deal, Despite Doubts

More than half of America's voters support a preliminary agreement with Iran to restrict its nuclear program, a new Quinnipiac University national poll released Monday reveals, but only about a third of them believe it will prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons.

The poll, conducted of 1,353 registered voters nationwide, shows that support for the agreement came in at 58 percent to 33 percent, but 62 percent said they are not so confident — or not confident at all — that the agreement will stop the threat of weapons.

Further numbers on the agreement include:

• Democrats support it by 76-15 percent and independents by 60-33 percent
• Republicans oppose it by 56-37 percent
• 53-40 percent overall say a letter from Republican senators to Iranian leaders was inappropriate
• 37-8 percent said the letter will hurt negotiations and 48 percent say it will make no difference
• 65-24 percent say the agreement should be subject to congressional approval
• 77-13 favor a settlement over military intervention

"Better to sit down and negotiate than to flex muscle and isolate," said Tim Malloy, assistant poll director. "Americans are worried about Iran, but not enough to send in the troops."

The poll, which carries a 2.7 percentage point margin of error, also reveals that Americans are divided over whether they'll vote Democratic or Republican in the upcoming 2016 elections for the House and Senate.

In House races, 40 percent said they'd choose a Republican and 37 percent would vote for a Democrat. In the Senate, voters were divided 39–39 percent on which party they would choose.

But Democrats in Congress scored a higher approval rating than Republicans, although both were in the negative numbers. Democrats got a 30-61 percent score, and Republicans got a 22-69 percent score.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama's scores are still negative, but not as bad as they have been. In the current poll, he netted at 44 percent to 49 percent job approval rating, compared to a 39-54 percent score in a similar poll on Nov. 25.

The new poll also measured American's views on same-sex marriage, finding that voters approve it by 58-34 percent. Republican oppose it by 59-33 percent, the poll showed, and voters over 55 only supported gay marriage by a narrow 48-43 percent spread.

Other findings on issues involving the same-sex marriage include:

• 69-26 percent say businesses should not be allowed to refuse service to homosexuals, including 50-44 percent of Republicans polled
• 58-35 percent said businesses should not be allowed to refuse service, even if it violates an owners' religious beliefs
• 56-37 percent of Republicans say a business owner should be allowed to deny service based on religious belief

The poll came out as the Supreme Court will consider on Tuesday whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to be wed.

Gay marriage is already legal in 37 out of the country's 50 states and in Washington, D.C., and experts say the top court will likely also recognize such unions' legality.

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