Poll Shows Economy Top Concern For Oklahomans

Even with Oklahoma's economy doing better than many parts of the country, voters still say it's the most pressing problem facing the state.

The latest Oklahoma Poll by The News On 6 and the Tulsa World shows it has grown dramatically in importance in the past few months.

Of people from across the state we polled, 31% now say the economy and unemployment are at the top of their concerns. Education and immigration follow. The last time we asked the question in December, only 9% said the economy was the most pressing problem.

Education has declined somewhat in importance for Oklahomans, but they still consider teacher pay a top priority. When asked to choose between raising teacher salaries to the regional average or developing a merit pay plan, 54% of people favor across the board raises. Only 38% prefer pay based on performance.

There is a similar split when we asked people to choose between raising teacher salaries or cutting the state income tax. Of people polled, 57% said they would rather increase teacher pay and 36% picked the tax cut.

And, there is overwhelming support for making English the official state language.

The Oklahoma Poll is a partnership between The News On 6 and the Tulsa World. We surveyed 750 people the last week of January. The margin of error is 3.5%.