Will the 2012 Electoral Maps Shift Much After Obama’s Endorsement?

If you have been following the 2012 presidential election, you know that the race is going to come down to a select few swing states that will hold the most weight in the election. 2012 electoral vote maps have President Obama starting out with a large lead over contender Mitt Romney with about 253 strong electoral votes for Obama and 170 for Romney. The marathon race to the White House however is long and circumstances can change quickly. President Obama made a monumental move on Wednesday, becoming the first president to endorse same-sex marriage. This decision however may not play an important role in securing the important 2012 swing state votes that are necessary to reach the 270 votes needed secure the election. In the latest discussions surrounding Obama’s endorsement of same sex marriage many are speculating how it will affect not the young voters, moderate voters but instead it focuses on another voting block African American voters. Many African American voters are staunch opponents of same-sex marriage, however, opposition to same-sex marriage has dropped by 20 points since 2008 and are following basic trends seen in other recent polls that is that people across all demographics are becoming more accepting or at least less polarized over the issue of gay marriage. Even if the African American community still opposed gay marriage it is very unlikely they will shift party lines. Reverend Bryant a pastor in Baltimore Maryland is steadfast in his opposition to gay marriage but stated that given the options of Romney vs. Obama he would still vote for Obama. He also stated “This is not an issue that I am going to walk away from him on”. Gay rights issues simply aren’t that big of an issue for African American’s or other swing voters in general. In a recent political poll, two-thirds of independent voters the most important votes in this election said that gay rights wasn’t a primary concern for them this election. Even with Latino voters who are portrayed as having firm anti-gay marriage stance were polled at only 26% opposition with much more supporting civil unions or gay marriage. Electoral prediction maps of the southwest and mid-Atlantic may not be as influenced by Obama’s statement as media speculation would have you believe, instead moderate and independent voters in these regions will vote about other issues such as immigration, economy, and who they believe best represents them.