Profile of the Republican Delegates

Republican Party officials are frequently featuring speakers who are minorities during their nightly convention sessions. But a survey of delegates indicates that most of the conventioneers are far more traditional--white, middle-aged and relatively well off. California’s delegation is more racially diverse and also less conservative than delegates nationwide.

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All California Race Delegates Delegates White 88% 70% Black 3% 7% Hispanic 3% 10% Asian 1% 9% Native American 1% - Other - 1% Age 18-29 2% 1% 30-44 27% 27% 45-64 54% 49% 65 and older 17% 23% Income Less than $30,000 3% 4% $30,000 to $49,999 12% 6% $50,000 to $74,999 16% 14% $75,000 to $100,000 12% 13% More than $100,000 39% 47%

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Which should be the next president’s top priority?

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All California Delegates Delegates Budget deficit 29% 19% Economy 23% 33% Taxes 13% 12% Abortion 5% 1% (Top four responses)

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Should Affirmative Action be abolished?

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All California Delegates Delegates Yes 65% 65% No 16% 14%

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Support or oppose reducing legal immigration?

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All California Delegates Delegates Support 39% 40% Oppose 40% 45%

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Abortion should be . . .

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All California Delegates Delegates The choice of the woman and her doctor 24% 46% Illegal except for rape, incest, or risk to mother’s life 48% 27% Illegal in all circumstances 21% 17%

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The Los Angeles Times in conjunction with NBC News, the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the San Diego Union-Tribune, contacted all 1,990 delegates to Republican National Convention by telephone during the period June 25 through July 25, 1996. Interviews were completed with 1,785 delegates or 90% of delegates. The survey was conducted by Blum Weprin Associates, Inc. In fewer than 100 cases, delegates were willing only to respond to demographic questions. It should be remembered that this poll was conducted of a census, not a sample, therefore there is no margin of sampling error. Poll results can also be affected by other factors such as question wording, and the order in which questions are presented.

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% where not all answer categories are shown. “-” indicates less than 0.5%.

Source: L.A. Times Poll