ST. LOUIS–A new St. Louis University poll released Friday shows support for a hypothetical Missouri ballot measure to legalize abortion, and would elect Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt as the state’s next U.S Senator.  

Saint Louis University and YouGov surveyed 900 likely Missouri voters from August 8 to August 16 with questions about a variety of political figures and institutions, although the number of respondents varied for each question.

SLU and YouGov have partnered on regular polling since 2020. 

When 453 people were asked if the state of Missouri was on the right track and headed in a good direction, 33% agreed, 51 % disagreed and 16% were unsure. The question’s margin of error was +/- 5.83%. It’s the first time since the pollsters began asking the question two years ago that a majority of respondents disagreed.

The poll gave approval ratings of 51% for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and a 46% approval for the Missouri state legislature.

When asked the same question about the United States as a whole, 15% agreed, 73% disagreed and 12% were unsure. President Joe Biden had a 36% approval rate, while Congress was worse at 22% of those polled.

In the race for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat, Republican Eric Schmitt holds a 49-38% lead over Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine. The poll was conducted before this week’s announcement that independent candidate John Wood was dropping his bid for the seat. The SLU/YouGov poll asked a separate question naming Wood with Schmitt coming in at 44%, Busch Valentine at 31% and Wood at 10% with 13% undecided.

On the issue of abortion, 75% said a woman should have the ability to get a legal abortion after she was raped, while 79% agreed in cases of incest. A trigger law took effect in Missouri following the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade this summer which only allows for abortion in case of a medical emergency, without exceptions.

If an initiative petition made it to the ballot to overturn Missouri law, 40% said they would keep the law as it currently stands, 48% would legalize abortion and 13% were unsure.

Full poll results can be found online here.